An Understanding of the Doctrine of Justification is
the Basis of Which the Church Either Progresses or
Digresses

Among the rank and file of Christendom, the doctrine
of justification and its related doctrines are either grossly misunderstood,
unknown, or ignored and thus misapplied. From time to time various precise
scholars have attempted to align the church on the right course on these vital
and necessary doctrines of salvation by grace through faith alone.

The Body of Christ is certainly in dire need of bible
scholars today who will rightly and unselfishly divide the word of God.
Those who are such will pain-stakingly wale through the light of the scriptures
to focus God’s people on these blessed doctrines, which all work in harmony
to convey justification. From the inception of justification by faith or "faith
righteousness" as revealed to the Apostle Paul, there has been a concerted
effort to place a vial upon this vital truth. This has been and continues to be
the target of the satanic forces.

Sadly, it is the misinformed Christian who has and
continues to misunderstand the cornerstone of salvation to the extent of placing
the Church under the bondage of the doctrine of "works-righteousness".
This occurs as a result of a lack of knowledge of the precise elements of
the doctrine of Justification and its related doctrines. Unfortunately it is not
in the scope of the average child of God to articulate adequately the
rational and Biblical response if posed the question, "How and why are you
saved?" It is astounding that so many have such a skewed understanding of
such an important truth; yet there does not seem to be any concerted effort on
the part of mainstream church ministries to guide God’s elect to the light of
the provisionary work which has been so graciouslysupplied to effectuate our eternal security.

It should be the benefit of all of God’s children to
dwell epistemologically in the fact of "Justification by Faith alone",
but sadly such is not the case because it (justification) has been misapplied
or even restated in some off-centered manner. The misstating of
the facts of God’s eternally designed plan ofsalvation occurs
mainly when the absolute ramifications of the Sovereignty of God is
misconstrued. The misconception of justification is foisted by imprecise
pastors in the pulpits, who preach in reality a partial meritorious or
none-grace salvation that binds the constituents of grace thus confusing the
true concept of this doctrine. This miscarriage of the truth must be met
with the utmost

precision of the knowledge of God’s eternally
executed work of salvationbefore creation. It is glaringly accurate
to state that this precision has mostly been lost in themajority of Christian circles today.

The litmus test to evaluate whether God’s people really understand the
true foundation of their salvation is to ask a very simple question, i.e., does
the doctrine of

justificationhave anything to do with
what one physically or emotionallyexperiences or does in
receiving ones salvation in any manner? If their answer lies anywhere in the
confines or realm of "yes", then it is obvious that their understanding of
justification is severely flawed. If one thinks that justification is evidenced
by what one experiences or does physically rather than what God has previously
accomplished on ones behalf, it will inevitably result in the forfeiture of
the comfort of ones full assurance.

Notice, with this mindset, the provisions of God’s
eternal work are non-existent and the terms (doctrines) of salvation
are befuddled. It is vital, yes even critical, to grasp the concept that the
doctrine of justification is something completely independent from
anything that any man can do, desire to do, or have something
done; and most importantly it is not something that is physically or
emotionally experienced. In essence it is something God alone
accomplished in a single declaration, thus it is independent or it
stands apart from the one who is justified. The simple yet precise truth of
the doctrine of justification is that those for whom justification is granted
are those who have not rendered any contributions either physically, mentally,
nor emotionally; thus those who have not worked for it in any manner
whatsoever or doneanything to deserve it. If one says or
teaches otherwise, the biblical concept of Justification is distorted.

The assurance of one’s justified standing with God
serves as the basis of one’s confident walk in the essence of those who are
members of the Body of Christ. The most blessed of God’s people are those who
first understand the eternal benefits ofsalvation and as of a
result, have internalized this truth and translated it into the practical aspect
of daily walking in Him, as we move toward eternity. To many of God’s people, it
is very difficult to transition the written or spoken word of God into the
living manifestation of it in our daily lives. We must fully comprehend the fact
that our true status in life begins with our eternalrelationship with
God. In essence our peace in this life is directly linked and dominated by
our peace with God (Romans 5:1). Our peace with God is culminated from
our eternal peace from God (Romans 1:7). Thus the enactment of
justification engenders the peace of God (Philippians 4:7; Colossians
3:15), who is the God of peace (Romans 15:33; Philippians 4:9; 16:20; I
Thessalonians 5:23). Justification denotes peace and acceptance with God.

In Romans 15:13 it reads (KJV), "Now the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope,
through the power of the Holy Ghost". Now from the Greek text, "And may the God
of hope fill you with all joy and peace while believing, unto the end that you
may abound in the hope in the power of the Holy Spirit". Hope or "earnest
expectation" is not the illusive entity that some deem it to be. Hope is
actually the derivative of justification. It depends upon justification; it
is in proportion to justification. But many of God’s people have very little if
any understanding of what justification is, accordingly they find themselves in
no position to either affirm or deny anything concerning it. Thus it is
encumbered upon the ministry to carefully define and explain the doctrine of
"justification", endeavoring to show both what it signifies, as well as
what it does not connote.

The meaning of the term justify does not mean
to make inherently righteous and holy but it signifies only to formally
pronounce just or legally declare one to be righteous. Justification is our
acceptance by which God receives His elect into His favor and esteems us as
righteous persons. It consists of the eradication of our sins and the
imputation of the righteous of Christ to ouraccount. Thus we are not
righteous in ourselves but we are consideredrighteous in Christ.

There was a relatively brief period in the 16th
century during the so called "Reformation Era" when the blesseth truth of
justification was one of the best known doctrines of the Protestant
Christian Faith, when it was regularly expounded through preaching and teaching
by the clergy of that day. At that period in church history, the rank and file
of those influenced by Martin Luther’s prioritizing of the epistles written by
the Apostle Paul was constantly exposed to the principle aspects of salvation
by grace alone.

Justification by faith, in light of the sovereign
grace of God through election, was at the very nucleus of this doctrinal
teaching. Its origin was derived through the prioritizing and distinguishing
of the epistles of Paul, as having supreme value contents over the law and
other Old Testament doctrinal instructions. Oddly, the proponents of these two
doctrinal persuasions (election by sovereigngrace and division of the
bible according to dispensations) are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

The underlying culprit of this rift between these
groups can be traced to the doctrine of synergism, which teaches man’s
partnership or cooperation with God and ultimate influence upon the enactment of
His will. Subsequent to the emergence of synergism and the corresponding
diluting of the doctrine of election and ultimate diversion of the true
principle of grace; generations have drifted from the actual factuality to
this present point wherein the vast majority of Reformation and Evangelical
Christendom are mostly ignorant of this precious theme. In this present day and
time, with rare exceptions, it is no longer given aprominent place in
the pulpits of ministries. Indeed any writings on it are scarce in this era
of men’s synergistically contrivance of propagating their conception of "how
to", i.e., "the proper method for receiving the things that one desires from
God".

Consequently, comparatively few of God’s elect
understand what justification actually connotes and still even less are
clear as to the grounds on which God justifiesthe ungodly.
Unfortunately as we view the spiritual welfare of God’s people, this places
genuine grace ministers out of the accepted mainstream of ministering.
Those who hew strictly to the meat of the message, i.e., the spiritual invisible
everlasting association of the elect linked to their eternal relationship with
God in eternity; will automatically shun the more physically
attractive yet superficial treatment of God’s directives to The Body of
Christ. Thus such faithful ones will find themselves resoundingly in the
minority.

In spite of this, God is to be praised as he continues
to call and equip faithful ministers to dedicatedly declare and vindicate the
truth unto the instruction and edification of those whom He has caused to love
it in sincerity. The extent of the scope of genuine ministry is to
extricate the minds of God’s people from the difficulties of secular
peculiarities, which so many have endeavored to cast on all gospel ministries.
The true crux of feeding the flock of God must be to direct the consciences of
those who sincerely inquire after abiding peace with God and to establish the
minds of those who believe thethings that are actually directed to
the Church in this dispensation.

This, in spite of its unpopularity, must be the aim
of informed ministering inthis age of Grace; that is, to present
the doctrines of salvation i.e., Justification, etc., as the vital subjects that
they are. This requires going into them deeply and entering into great
details, even every revealed aspect of these truths. This we must do even
through it may seem to cause a heavy taxation upon the spiritual mentality and
patience of the average child of God. But the truly called one of God is
mandated to teach and preach accordingly. Thus we respectfully urge all of God’s
people (and those in Grace Ministries in particular) to make a concerted effort
to gird

up the loins of our minds and seek to
prayerfully master the foundational doctrines of salvation.

In examining the subject of justification and outlaying
the exegesis of what the word of God conveys, we will present the facts of the
doctrinal side of the truth as we correlate it judicially. This is distinguished
from the practical or experimental side. Yet when taken in light of the full
knowledge of Gods’ grace working for and in sinful mankind, it becomes apparent
that the doctrine of Justification is not by any means to be viewed as
impractical, no, indeed far from it.

The judicious act of God declaring His elect justified,
in practice entails the external enactment of the account of the
righteousness of Jesus Christ, to be conferred, deposited or credited to the
worth or standing of the believer before Him. This does not take into
account the personal worth or contributable input of the conferee, but it only
weighs the enumeration of the assessment as a transaction of imputation.
Thus justification before God cannotbe viewed in both the legal
and evangelical sense. The distinct nature of the two viewed in partnership
(legal and evangelical) form a phantasm or mirage; as the former gives credit
to and singularly glorifies God, while the latter is derogatory to the merit
of Christ if it ascribes even partial credit to the recipient, rather
than total credit to the blood of Christ.

Consequently true or scriptural justification gives
no countenance to any amalgamation (blending or mixing) of the actual and
practicing aspects of righteousness, holiness or sanctification. All
justification that could be merited is over- thrown by this distinction. This
dissimilarity is marked by: on the one hand, the actuality or factuality of
justification based on faith alone and on the other hand, the visible
manifestation of the functions of those who are justified. It must be clearly
understood that the former is the essence of our acceptable standing before Him
and is sufficient within itself. Thus while the latter is a noble testimony to
the accomplishment of God’s work of imputing righteousness to His elect; it,
in itself is not a continuation of the act of justification. It depends on
faith alone, not on one’s so-called "personal righteousness", which is
not acquirable in ones daily walk. In other words, is justification a once
completed judicious act in all it’s cause and effect of it or does the
commanding power of the Law constitute an obligation of obedience to effectuate
a continuation or sustenance of it? Does the continuation of the actual
pardon and justified estate depend upon the performance of its recipient

?

The scriptural principles of justification teach
that nothing is required here unto but the application of righteousness
imputed. This alone is the pleadable basis of the continuation of our
approved standing before God. Thus ones personal obedience does not
constitute God’s pleasure in His acceptance of one, even though God is
definitely pleased with the exemplification of righteous deeds on the part
of the one to whom righteous has been reckoned. Consequently in essence,
acceptability to God is that which is externally conferred, not that which
externally manifested.

The perpetrators of arminianism as well as those who
are synergistically inspired do in fact both foist and affirm various forms of
so-called "evangelical personalrighteousness." The very nature
and usage of such terminology engenders in many respects (whether intended or
not), a connotation of angelical justification on their so-called
evangelical personal righteousness. It is indeed puzzling how this is by some
affirmed and even applauded. How is it possible, in light of Paul’s writings
(our gospel in the Dispensation of Grace), that evangelical personal
righteousness could be asserted as a condition of one’s righteousness or the
pardon of sin? There is no personal righteousness required in the Gospel of
Grace; otherwise grace would not be grace (unmerited favor). Contrariwise,
the nature of the Law induces a requirement for inherent and habitual
righteousness, sanctification and holiness. In this sense righteousness (the
standard of God) is required from a source from whence there is no such
substance. This is the reason why all must accept the verdict that all the
progenyof Adam are depraved creatures, thus the requirement of
denominational righteousness by the believer is a loss cause. Evangelical
personal righteousness should never be asserted as the condition of our
righteousness nor could there ever be any evangelical justification attached to
our personal expressions of God’s righteousness.

Those who espouse the teachings of the contents of the
Epistle of James (justification by faith and works) have a lack of
comprehension that they are doctrinally and dispensationally out of synch with
the epistles of Paul, which teaches justification by faith alone. There
is a vast difference between the terms and non-conditions of the GraceCovenant (Grace Mystery Gospel) verses, the terms and conditions
outlaid in the New Covenant(Kingdom Gospel), though
justification in both gospels is antecedently originated in the merit of Jesus
Christ alone. Even in James teachings there is no assertion that one may be
justified by their inherent personal righteous. A clear understanding of the
doctrine of the New Covenant plainly teaches that the accomplishment of
justification is invested in the fact that the deeds of the Law originally
written on tablets of stone in the Old Covenant; is now (and will be)
written in their hearts through identification with the workings of Christ in
the spirit of God, which shall dwell in them. Thus, it will not be them (nor
could it ever be) but the spirit of God in them implementing the deeds of
the law unto justification. For those who are under theGrace
Covenantthere are no stipulations of works whatsoever; there is only
the transference of righteousness,
sanctification and holiness by the imputation of the merit of Christ, which is
unmerited by the elect of God.

Now one must be very careful not to construe this
distinction between FaithRighteousness (which is by imputation),
and so-called Evangelical PersonRighteousness, (which is viewed
as the character of the believer), to be antithetical to the appeal for moral
conduct in the believer. Conversely, it is an unbiased knowledge of true
justification through imputation of the righteousness of God by the faithfulness
of Jesus Christ that should serve as the foundational basis for dedication
and discipline living before Him.

Thus the term "evangelical personal righteousness" is
flawed nomenclature, even when it is used to denote the practice of

manifesting godly principles in
response to our justified position, which has been acquired for us! If one use
it as a basis of self-aggrandizing worth or value rating that is offered
as contribution to the process of justification, he is grossly in error, for it
is not the nature of any justification affirmed in the scriptures. All
judgments or assessments of the believer’s worth must be directly linked to the
merit of the propitiation (acceptable Sacrifice), which is the only
plausible substratum for justification or any declaration of righteousness.

Now as we begin in earnest our expository discourse of
this very important subject of Justification; there are certain premises upon
which our dissertation must ultimate rest; namely:

All of mankind is born with the sinful nature after
the similitude of fallen Adam (Romans 5:14).

All men, as a result of this sinful nature are
guilty before God (Romans 3:19).

No man can be justified by his own personal
character or conduct (Romans 3:20).

No man of his own accord has the ability to seek
after God (Romans 3:11-12).

Righteousness is not a relative term; it is an
absolute term and is ultimately defined as the divine standard of God (Romans
10:3).

Man can only be just or righteous because of the
righteousness, which is through the faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness
that is of God by His (Jesus’) faithfulness (Philippians 3:9).

Man can only be justified through faith, i.e., "the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1) and thus brings forth the fruits of
the righteousness of justification (Philippians 1:11).

Justification is a legal term meaning to remove the
guilt (i.e., the liability to punishment) of the sinner. It does not involve
making one inwardly holy, but merely declares that the demands of justice have
been satisfied. Justification is a change in man’s relationship or standing
before God. It has to do with the relationship that originally was and now is as
a result of the effect of sin. Now we shall observe throughout this study that
our individual relationship with God is personal.

Justification is a change from guilt and
condemnation, to acquittal and acceptance (Romans 5:1). It is a divine legal act
on the part of (God), the judge of the entire universe.
Justification is an act done purely on a legal basis only i.e., that Jesus, who
is God incarnate-in flesh, died (the supreme sacrifice) to satisfy the perfect
divine universal law of God’s demands (Galatians 3:11-13). Now, in view of
Jesus’ faithful act of love, God who is the only Judge, can remain just in
justifying all the elect who through the gift of faith; shall believe on the
finished efficacious work that Jesus accomplished in eternity, which was
manifested on the cross at Calvary (Rom. 3:25-26).

Note the difference between Regeneration and
Justification. Regeneration is a subject matter we shall exclusively deal with
in other writings as it entails the change of the believer’s nature.
Justification entails the change of the believer’s legal standing before God.
Regeneration is subjective, whereas justification is objective. In other words,
regeneration is concerned with the state of the believer, but
justification is concerned with the status of the believer’s standing.
Thus in essence, to justify does not mean to make one righteous but to
count one righteous (Galatians 3:6). Now it should be clearly understood
that the purpose of justification is to set forth as righteous, to declare
righteous in a legal sense or to place the believer in a righteous relationship
with God.

Justification does not deal, at lease not directly with
character but it is a question of relationship. Now some of the legalists are
going to construe this in the wrong way, so we note that both character and
conduct are fruits of and controlled by the relationship. In other words, no acquired righteousness on the part of the one justified is to be
asserted as the believer is declared to be righteous and is
treated by God as such. Strictly speaking then, justification is the
special act of God whereby those who are caused to exercise faith in Christ are
declared righteous in Him and are thus free from both the guilt
and punishment of sin. Now those who are proponents of so called corporate
election should understand that saving faith, i.e., the faith that enables one
to believe; is not self generated by any means and could not possibly be sourced
from mankind. Faith is a gift that is gifted out of God Himself,
therefore no flesh can boast (Rom. 3:27; 4:2). Now the basis of the ministry of
the Grace Gospel Church is found in Ephesians 2:8-9. This text sheds great light
upon the subject of justification, which is the essence of salvation by grace
and faith alone!

Now we should soberly and sincerely ask ourselves these
questions...."Does the faith, which we exercise in believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ for salvation come from us or does it come from God?
In our unsaved state, upon hearing the gospel, do we generate the faith to
believe from within ourselves or does God deposit that faith
within us? This study of the doctrine of justification will
clearly demonstrate that God, and God alone provides the faith to believe the
gospel. Now as we study and share the doctrine of the believer’s justification,
it can be established that the faith that is supplied in God’s act of declaring
the sinner to be counted as righteous; is exclusively provided by God. The faith
itself is not extant from the believing sinner, but gifted from God. Romans 5:1,
which we shall extensively exegete in our studies, teaches us that the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ is the only basis by which God
can and will declare the judicial act of justification.
Paul states a summation in this verse, "Therefore having been justified by
(through the means of) faith (the faithfulness of Christ), we have peace with
God". "Peace with God", as we shall see in our detailed examination of this
verse, is rendered "face to face", as it testifies that we have been pardoned
from the judicial curse of the original sin or sin nature, which the entire
human family inherited from the first man Adam. Ephesians 2:1 states that we
were dead in our trespasses and sins. Here one must concede that dead persons do
not have the capacity to do anything. They can absolutely makenodecisions. We were spiritually dead, thus God had to reach into us
to give us life. It is a fact that we could not reach out to Him
(John 6:44; Ephesians 2:5) so God reached down to us.
Thus, as the elect of God chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world
(Ephesians 1:4), our salvation is totally the work of God, even to
the point of giving us the faith to believe in receiving the act of
justification (Philippians 1:29). Now one should not allow
legalistic or denominational dogma to cloud ones thinking. May the
understanding of this truth give each of us great joy in our Lord; thanking God
only for the provisions He made in effectuating our eternal
justification and thus our eternal salvation.

Justification consists of two elements:

The forgiveness of sin, thus the removal of its
guilt and punishment.

The imputation of Christ’s righteousness and
restoration to God’s favor.

It is difficult for one to fully relate to God’s
feelings toward sin. In the thinking of mankind, God’s forgiveness for sin may
seem to be easy, mostly because as sinful creatures we are basically insensitive
toward sin. But to a righteous and Holy God it is absolutely and totally
different. Note how we as humans find it so very hard to forgive someone when we
believe that they have wronged us, nevertheless God has gladly and freely
forgiven (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 3:24). Even in other dispensations God’s
forgiveness is demonstrated in the prophecy of Micah 7:18, wherein he states,
"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the
transgression of the remnant of his heritage"? He retaineth not his anger
forever, because he delighteth in mercy...he will subdue our iniquities; and
thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Also, in the 130th
Psalms there is the wonderful expression of God’s forgiveness.

In this sense, forgiveness may be considered as
cessation of the moral anger and resentment of God against sin or as a release
from the guilt of sin, which oppresses the conscience or as a remission of the
punishment of sin-----which is eternal DEATH. In justification then, all
of our sins are forgiven and the guilt and punishment thereof removed (Acts
13:38-39; Romans 8:1). Thus God sees the believer as without sin and guilt in
Christ (Romans 8:33-34). Now the forgiven sinner is unlike the discharged
prisoner who has served out his term and is discharged from further punishment,
but such one has no rights of citizenship. No! Justification entails much
more than mere acquittal (Romans 5:9-10). In essence justification functions as
follows: the repentant, after being gifted by God with the ability
to change his mind and heart toward God, receives as a result of his pardon, the
full rights of citizenship, which is in heaven
(Ephesians 2:19). There is also the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus
Christ to the redeemed. His righteousness is "Unto all and upon all them that
are gifted of God to believe" (Romans 3:22; 5:17-21; I Corinthians 1:30).

We open our scriptural exegesis in Romans 3:19 from the
King James Version, "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith
to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and the entire
world may become guilty before God". And from the Greek text, "And we know that
as much as the law says, it says it to those in the law, that every mouth may be
stopped and all the world may become guilty before God". In verse 19 and the
following verse (20), the Apostle Paul, tersely sets forth the underlying
purpose of the Law of Moses. Notice in perusing the proceeding verses 10 through
18, the word of God testifies that there is none righteousness not even one;
thus it is declared that the entire human race is under the domination of sin.
It further states that there is none who understands or none who has spiritual
insight into the mind, will and purpose of God (Romans 11:34; I Corinthians
2:16). All men are born into this world dead in trespasses and sins, alive only
in the physical sphere, so it follows that mankind will not and cannot seek God who is in the spiritual sphere (John 4:24). Now
actually, to the contrary, mankind has turned away from and shunned all that which is profitable and godly. True kindness and goodness is
the exception rather than the rule because men are not prone to minister to the
needs of others outside of their own selfish motives. The true description of
man’s nature is defined in Romans 3:13-18. Now again in verse 19 Paul discloses
three things:

The Purpose of the Mosaic Law

The contents of the Law

The sphere of the Law

Now one point must be clearly understood; and that is
the fact that the Law is specifically addressed to Israel (Romans 3:1; 9:4). The
only way for a Gentile to come within the sphere of the Law was to become a
Jewish proselyte, and even then, his privileges were limited (Matthew 23:15;
Acts 2:11).

Note the Greek phrase tho•sah o no•mahs leh•yee
translated "as much as the Law says", is a quantitative phrase. It means that
all, i.e., everything that the Law says is to be observed by those in or under
the Law. The Law was a single package of stipulations and commands, and it had
no options, no deviation, but it had to be kept in its entirety. If the one
under it failed to keep every aspect of it, he was deemed a sinner and came
under its curse (Galatians 3:10). In verse 19, the Greek conjunction ee•nah
translated "that" or in order that, as it is used with the subjunctive mood,
indicates what the purpose of the Law is, i.e., "that every mouth may be
stopped". Here the Greek word phrah•yee translated "stopped",
means that every mouth may be fenced in, closed up and silenced. Earnestly
speaking, outside of the accomplishments of Jesus, we have absolutely
nothing to boost or brag about. Now those who abide under the Law and
have not perfectly kept all the requirements of the Law are under the curse of
the Law and have no excuses, alibis nor basis for justification
(Galatians 2:16).

Observe further in verse 19, Romans chapter 3; that
beyond stopping every mouth, the Law puts men in a position that "all the world
may become guilty before God". Note that the Greek phrase pahs o kos•mos
rendered "all the world", suggests that the Law impresses guiltiness on the mind
of all those who are subject to it. Those who are legalistically or
denominational inclined to wave the deed of the Law as their banner, must wake
up and realize that it will not justify them... no to the contrary, it will
absolutely condemn them. It cannot solidify but instead actually destroys ones
position before God. Notice the Greek word eep•oth•ee•kos
translated "guilt". Here the Greek proposition eep•o means "under"
and the noun thee•kos rendered "justice", speaks of one who is
under justice or judgement or one who is under obligation to make restitutions.
So it conveys the idea of bringing the world to trial, accusing it and making it
liable for its sin. Now this speaks of an extended significance of the Law,
strictly limited to sinners (I Timothy 1:9), beyond the Jews to whom it was
specifically given (Exodus 20:1-22; I Corinthians 9:20-21).

Now we move to Romans 3:20 from the King James Version,
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his
sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin".And from the Greek Text,
"wherefore no flesh will be justified in His sight out of the works of the law,
for through the law is a knowledge of sin." Now upon face value this verse
immediately sets forth two things and they are:

The Law cannot justify anyone before God.

The Law reveals knowledge of Sin.

Thus if we try to us to use the Law to acquire a
justified position before God, we are using it (the Law) unlawfully.
Contrariwise, when it is used to impress upon sinful mankind the unrighteousness
that is inherent in human flesh; it is lawfully being used. Here the Greek
conjunction thee•ot•ee translated "wherefore" literally means on
account of that which is stated in verse 19 and that is, again …. it is
impossible for any flesh to be justified by the Law. The Greek verb theek•eh•o•thee•seh•teh
rendered "justified", is in the passive voice, which means that as far as the
Law was concerned it was unable to make one right,
upright,faultless and just before
God. This utter failure on the part of the Law was due to the weakness of the
flesh as it is a fact that all men are sinners in their nature
(Romans 8:3; Ephesians 2:1-3).

It is of the utmost importance for us to understand
that the works of the Law are notable to justify in
God’s ehn•o•pee•on rendered "sight". Most human religions and
humanistic persuasions of Christianity revolve around justification in the sight
of men. But the gospel of the grace of God (as revealed to the Apostle Paul) has
onlyone concern and that is justification in the
sight of, before the eyes of and in the presence of God Himself
(II Corinthians 4:2). Here we see the essence of the policy of the Law Covenant
(economy) and that was, the Law promised the Jews that if they did it they would
live by it (Romans 10:5). Since no one perfectly kept the Law, no
one was made righteous or justified by it, hence they could not live by
it (Galatians 3:21). Now as Paul looked at the Law, he did not see it as having
failed its mission, but as having accomplished a more profound purpose; and that
is proving to men generally and Israel specifically, one’s inability to meet
God’s standards (Romans 7:7-13).

So, through endeavoring to keep the Law but
simultaneously breaking it, the elect Jews were forced to acknowledge that they
were sinners (Romans 9:6-11); thus through the inadvertent breaking of the Law,
there evolved a knowledge of sin.

Now we examine Romans 3:21 from the King James Version,
"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets".Andfromthe Greek
Text, "But now a righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
being witnessed to by the law and the prophets," After having pointed out in the
earlier verses of this chapter that all men are totally depraved sinners, that
there is not a single good thing in anyone and that the real purpose of the Law
was to give mankind knowledge of this sin, the Apostle Paul now proceeds to
unfold the answer to the sinful dilemma in which all men are trapped. In this
verse as we will see, the heart of his answer is that God has provided His
righteousness for His elect through their identification with Jesus Christ.

Verse 21 of Romans chapter three opens with the Greek
adversative conjunction ahl•lah rendered "but", to contrast the
thoughts of the preceding verses to the flow of information that he now
expresses in this verse. The Greek adverb neen translated "now",
calls our attention to the present time or to a given point of time in history.
Prior to the time designated "now", the Jews had been under the Law as God’s
program for them, but now God has ushered in a new apart-from-the-law
plan (Galatians 3:19-25). Paul frequently uses the adverb "now" in the writings
of his epistles to indicate that which was and has passed away and now
it has been replaced by something new and different.
Note! This change in God’s method of dealing with His people is
commonly called a change from one dispensation or economy to another. Now, if we
fail to recognize these changes; and as a consequence, drag passed-away
truthinto the present; it becomes the major cause for the
widespread confusion among God’s people today. The main point of this verse is
that the righteousness of God has been manifested. Note here the absence of an
article before the Greek word theek•eh•os•ee•nee translated
"righteousness", and also the influence in a legalistic sense, of the concept of
Law-Righteousness. As we seek to clarify the intentions of Paul’s flow of
information, we are compelled to designate the article "a" to differentiate this
righteousness from that which has been embraced by the Jews. Now in contrast to
the potential yet unattainable righteousness of the Law that had been given by
God, Paul introduces another righteousness of God. In this case this is a
righteousness, which belongs to God. Note that even as what is right and wrong
is determined by God, likewise His righteousness embodies
all that is right according to His standard. The
righteousness of God is absolute righteousness, which is the only
true righteousness, as this term cannot be accurately expressed in a relative
sense.

Now we observe the fact that this righteousness "has
been manifested apart from the Law". Note the Greek verb peh•phahn•ehr•o•teh
translated "has been manifested", is in the perfect tense, which means that at a
given point of time in the past it was brought to light, revealed, disclosed and
thus presently exists. In determining when this righteousness was manifested, we
need to keep in mind that Jesus Christ incarnate in human flesh is the
embodiment of this righteousness (I Corinthians 1:30).

Furthermore, we can affirm that His sacrificial
offering in eternity as it is manifestly expressed in time by His death on the
cross, made this righteousness available to all who are His elect (II
Corinthians 5:21). Jesus who is the revealed righteousness of God in His very
essence is revealed as a righteousness nee•neethehkho· pees nom•oo theek•eh•os•ee•nee
literally rendered, "that now is apart from ... separated from or severed from
the Law righteousness". In reading the account of the Kingdom Church in
transition recorded in the 21st chapter of Acts, it doesn’t appear
that those in Jerusalem had comprehended this apart-from-the-law righteousness
(Romans 4:21-25). All Biblical records infer that the Apostle Paul was the first
one to receive the revelation of the fact that God’s righteousness and
redemption are in Jesus Christ (Acts 13:38-39; Galatians1:2; 3:16). Now it
cannot be pinpointed exactly when it was revealed that God’s righteousness in
Christ supplanted the Mosaic Law, but one thing is certain; Paul is clearly
teaching the Roman believers that their righteousness is in Christ and that the
Law has nothing to do with it.

As we exegete the latter portion of Romans 3:21, it
states that the righteousness of God is "being witnessed to by the Law and the
prophets". It must be clearly understood that the principle of the righteousness
of God being based upon faith was not a part of the Law, but it also was not
something new, for the Prophet Habakkuk has stated as well as Paul that "the
just shall live by faith" (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17). Abraham is a supreme
example of one who received righteousness on the basis of faith. In
Genesis 15:6, we read of Abraham: "and he believed in the Lord, and he counted
it to him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6). David also speaks of
the person who the Lords makes righteous apart from works (Psalms 32:1-2; Romans
4:6-8). Peter, in corroboration to Paul’s revelations, earlier affirms this same
principle as he speaks to Cornelius and his friends (Acts 10:43). In light of
this statement, we embrace the position that the principle of the righteousness
of God was revealed to Paul and either directly or indirectly to Peter, as they
were given insight into the confirmation of this Old Testament blessing
(Galatians 1:12).

Now we move to Romans 3:22 from the King James Version,
"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all
and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:" And from the Greek
Text, "even a righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ unto
all those believing: for there is no difference;" In this verse Paul explains
two things: (1) the one through whom this righteousness is channeled. (2) Those
who are the recipients of this righteousness. Now the most important truth in
this verse, but at the same time the most misunderstood truth involves how God
has extended His righteousness to the believer. Observe the key word in
this verse, "faithfulness", which in effect involves how God has extended Hisrighteousness, even though it has been commonly misinterpreted in such
context.Herewe note the Greek word pees·
teh· os, as it appears in the nominative
case, singular number and in most contexts is correctly translated, "faith". On
the other hand there are several contexts whereby it is necessary to translate
the insertion of this Greek word pees· teh·
os with the translation, "faithfulness" i.e., (Matthew 23:23; Romans
3:3;Galatians 5:22; Colossians 2:12; Philippians 5; I Timothy 4:12; 6:11; II
Timothy 2:22; Titus 2:10). In each of these contexts the name of Jesus Christ is
in the genitive case, indicating that it is a characteristic He possesses
(Romans 3:26; Galatians 2:16; 3:22; Ephesians 3:12; Philippians 3:9).
John the Baptist declared (through divine revelation) that Jesus is "the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29,36).

So as the eternal Lamb of God, it was imperative that
He be without blemish or spot, i.e., sinless (I Peter
1:19). Now the righteousness of God is inextricably amalgamated with the perfect
faithfulness of Jesus Christ. As the Son of God, He was put through the most
stringent testing. Yet He never wavered, but remained apart from sin and
was faithful even unto death on the cross (Hebrews 4:4-15). Note the
faithfulness (pees•teh•os) of Jesus Christ, which reached its
zenith on the cross, as the manifested basis for our being made
the righteousness of God in Him (II Corinthians 5:21).

Now as we further exegete this verse (Romans 3:22),
notice Paul’s answer to the implied question, "to whom is the righteousness of
God available? The statement given, "unto all believing", is in the present
tense, which means that His righteousness is freely given to all those trusting,
relying upon, and exercising faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16). Now the real
issue is what is the source of this faith? If it is humanly generated or if it
is possible to originate in the mind of a sinner would not it in itself be
considered a work? But if on the other hand this faith is implanted in the minds
of those chosen in Him (Ephesians 1:4; 2:8) and exercised in conjunction with
the Holy Spirit, isn’t this necessarily the proper function and classification
of salvation by grace? Any human contribution or input destroys the aspect of
grace or the concept of no merit. Any human function as it relates to faith or
righteousness or sanctification or holiness or justification, annihilates the
grace equation. Now in the final phrase of this verse (22), the apostle Paul
states that there is no thee· ahs·
to· lee rendered "difference". So there is no
distinction, nor separation between Jews and Gentiles. All are equally under sin
and all are treated equal under God’s sovereign purpose (I Corinthians 1:30;
Romans 8:28; 9:11).

Now we move to Romans 3:23, a verse of scripture that
many who are of the legalistic persuasion would rather discount. We view it
first from the King James Version "For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God." And from the Greek Text, "for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God". Now as we observed in Romans 3:22, God’s offer of
righteousness through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ is extended to all
those believing, whether Jews or Gentiles; there is no difference between us as
we are all sinners (by nature) and we all need true righteousness if we
desire a right relationship with God. We must keep in mind that sinners by
nature, when left to themselves, do not desire a right relationship with
a totally righteousness God (John 3:19-20) because all are totally depraved
(proponents of corporate election must understand this). Total depravity means
that not a single depraved individual desires God’s righteousness in Christ
unless he is efficaciously drawn by God through the Holy Spirit (John 6:44).
Pastors and Ministers must understand this in their church services when they
extend so-called altar calls or invitations for discipleship for salvation.
Furthermore, when we see individuals genuinely trusting Jesus Christ as their
Savior, we can posit the fact that God, prior to their believing, gave
them the faith with which to believe based on His chose of election. If the
sinner generates faith within himself, it is no longer salvation by grace but by
human works. This is explicitly demonstrated in the contents of Act 13:46-48,
but more importantly the prayerful consideration of Ephesians 2:8-9.

This 23rd verse, interspersed between verse
21-22 and that which follows, is an additional summary of the plight of the
entire human race. Now this statement leaves no room for exception. We have here
the Greek word pahn· dehs translated
"all", thus all have ee· mahr•ton or
"sinned", missed the mark, missed the way, erred, and failed God. In keeping
with what Paul has already said in Romans 1:18-3:18, this verse recapitulates
the fact that sin is the universal problem for all of mankind (Romans 5:12; John
1:8,10). Now the consequences of the fact that all men have sinned are that we
fall short of the glory of God". The Greek word thox∙ees
translated "glory", as used here basically refers to the opinion that may be
assigned to a particular person or thing, more specifically it may be a very
high opinion of one’s person, character, or reputation. This same meaning
predominates in the New Testament, i.e., it represents our opinion and
presumption of what a person is like. So it is indicative of the truth that God
has revealed concerning Himself, thus we are able to form a relatively accurate
opinion of what He is like, i.e., that which is pertaining to His glory; the sum
total of whom He has revealed Himself to be i.e., an omnipotent, loving,
merciful and gracious God ---- and ones rational opinion of it, constitutes ones
perception of the glory of God. Now to ee∙stehr∙oon∙deh rendered,
"fall short" of the glory of God is to fail, to lack, or to be void of God’s
characteristics. We need to remember that man was created in the image of God,
and in this respect shared in the glory of God. But sin deeply marred this
image, and has caused mankind to fall far short of the glory, which he was
formally associated with (Genesis 1:27).

Now we move to Romans 3:24 from the King James Version,
"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus:" And from the Greek Text, "being justified freely by His grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus". Now as we continue in the discourse, we
do so first on the basis that all have sinned and are guilty before God, thus
God’s justification is applied to designated ones who believe by His grace. This
is the epitome of that which is displayed in Christ’s redemptive death upon
Calvary. Here notice the Greek participle theek∙eh∙oo∙meh∙nee
translated "being justified", which is in the present tense and the passive
voice. It denotes that God Himself is continuously declaring righteousness, and
vindicating designated sinners in this present Church age. Previously in verse
22, the Apostle Paul spoke about the righteousness, which God has provided
through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Now it is on the basis of this
divinely imputed righteousness that the believer is justified. Here the Greek
adverb tho∙reh∙ahn is rendered "freely" or "without a cause",
which means that God’s justification of the believer, is not caused by
any human input or any contribution outside of God Himself. Those who may be
legalistically or denominationally persuaded or otherwise, must understand that
no one can have anything to do with the divine act of justifying or declaring
one to be righteous. Justification is without cause or merit on the believer’s
part, therefore no one can influence God’s gracious act on one’s behalf.

As we further exegete verse 24, notice the Greek
preposition thee∙ah rendered "through", as it is used with the
genitive case; specifies the action through which this justification is
effectuated. Now in order for God to be just and at the same time to justify the
believer, someone had to assume the penalty of the sinner’s sin, namely death
(Romans 6:23). The fact that God freely justifies by His grace is inseparable
from the ahp●ol●ee· tro·
seh· os translated "redemption"; which
denotes freeing for a ransom paid or the liberation from sin procured by Jesus
Christ’s substitutionary death in eternity as it was manifested on Calvary
(Isaiah 53:4-6; I Corinthians 15:3).

The definite article tees noted prior to
the Greek phrase ehn Khrees•to Ee•ee•soo structures the
translation in the verse, "that is in Christ Jesus". This clearly,
absolutely and exclusively establishes redemption in the essenceof
(Jesus Christ), which is in the locative case and also by means of
(Jesus Christ), which is in the instrumental case. In other words, this
statement limits redemption, hence justification to God in Christ Jesus, the
essence of God, incarnate in human flesh (Acts 4:12). Hence, Jesus is the
only solution or remedy as there is no room for any self-styled false
saviors. Jesus is the only true savior whose bodily sacrifice is
sufficient to pay the ransom that is required to remove the curse of sin. God’s
people must not be hoodwinked into believing that there is another way or remedy
for receiving justification. It is of the uttermost importance that all those
who are saved, thoroughly understand the true basis of their acceptable and
righteous standing before God. This is accomplishable only by receiving the
righteousness of God that is obtained through the merit of the worth of Christ
Jesus.

Now we move to Romans 3:25 from the King James Version,
"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God;"And fromthe Greek Text, "whom God previously
placed a propitiation through faith in His blood, to show His righteousness
because of the passing over of previously committed sins, in the forbearance of
God;" Here we note one brief comment regarding the ending, "in the forbearance
of God". Now some translations place this statement in the following verse (26),
but on the basis of thought content, it seems to blend better with the
conveyance of this verse (25). In the opening statement of this verse (25) Paul
states, "whom God set forth a propitiation". Note, the Greek verb pro·
eh· theh· to
translated "previously placed", is derived from the Greek preposition pro
and verb tee•thee•mee and literally means that God "placed
beforehand", i.e., previously purposed and determined that Jesus Christ would be
an eel•ahs•tee•ree•on rendered "propitiation". This Greek noun
describes Jesus as the one "acceptable sacrifice" who appeases,
makes atonement and who Himself is the mercy seat, the only place where sinners
can find mercy before a Holy God (Hebrews 9:5).

Now the manifested establishment of the mercy seat
originated in the Old Testament. In Exodus 25:17-22, God instructed Moses to
make a mercy seat of pure gold as He gave its design details and location above
the Ark of the Covenant between the Cherubim. It was where the High Priest
qualified the people to meet with God based upon the acceptance of the sacrifice
that was offered as the appeasement for sin. More specifically the mercy seat
was the lid or covering of the Ark of the Covenant made of pure gold. It was
on and before the mercy seat, which the High Priest was to sprinkle
the blood of the expiatory sacrifice on the great Day of Atonement as it was the
place where the Lord promised to meet His people (Exodus 25:17,22; 29:42; 30:36;
Leviticus 16:2,14,15). Now again, here in Romans 3:25, the Apostle Paul uses the
application of this word to assert that Christ was the truemercy seat,
the antitype of the cover of the Ark of the Covenant (Hebrews 9:5). Therefore,
eel●ahs●tee●ree●on translated propitiation, means a place of
conciliation, expiation or an altar or place of sacrifice. Now it does not only
reference the expiatory sacrifices themselves. Note here in Romans 3:25 and in
Hebrews 9:5, Jesus Christ is designated as the propitiation because He is
designated not only as the place where the sinner deposits the sacrifice for
sin, but He Himselfis the acceptable sacrifice or means of
expiation. Elsewhere in our writings, there is further study of the subject
matter, propitiation, which entails greater and more detailed in-depth study of
this doctrinal truth.

Here having observed that God made Jesus Christ the
essence of mercy for sinners, the question arises as to, on what basis is
this mercy given? As we further exegete verse 25 the Apostle Paul states that
believersare identified with the mercy seat
"through faith in his blood". Everyone who exercises this faith, thereby shows
that they have been chosen before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4),
that their faith in His blood has been divinely implanted otherwise, His blood
which was shed on the cross would be foolishness unto them (ICorinthians
1:23-24)). Note how important it is for us to understand that the object of the
faith given to believers is that our confidence might be totally in the
substitutionary death of Jesus and not in anything we might do in the flesh
(Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:20).

Now as we move to the latter portion of verse 25, we
tackle a basic problem that Paul is dealing within this verse and that is can
God patiently forbear sins, which had been committed in the past, and still be
righteous? The answer to this problem is Jesus Christ’s propitiatory death,
which was determined and thus enacted in eternity, as the Lamb of God "was slain
from the creation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). The value of His blood poured
out is more than adequate to cover all past, present and future sins. Thus we
see that Christ’s propitiatory blood shed in eternity and as viewed in the
process of its manifestation in due time, made it possible for God to pahr•ehs•een
translated to "pass over" or to "be beside" committed sins and to simultaneously
be righteousness (Romans 5:13-14).

In view of the basic meaning of the Greek verb
pahr•ehs•een translated "passing over"; it is derived from the
combination of the words pahr•ah andeem•ee and is
consistently used by the Apostle Paul with the meaning of present or presence. A
more descriptive translation of the latter portion of verse 25 would be "to show
his righteousness because of the presence of previously committed sins, in the
forbearance of God". So here in essence God purposed that Jesus Christ
should be a propitiation (in the beginning) unto the end to point out His
righteousness, even as it allowed Him to forbear and put up with the presence of
previous sins, thus sins that were committed prior to the cross were in
effect previously paid forprior to the cross.

Now we turn to Romans 3:26 from the King James Version,
"Todeclare, I say, at thistime hisrighteousness:
that he might be just, and thejustifier of him which believeth in
Jesus". And from the Greek Text, "to show His righteousness at the present time,
that He might be just and the one justifying out of the faithfulness of Jesus".
Now in order to fully understand the truth that is conveyed in this
verse, it is necessary to transfer from verse 25 the fact that God predetermined
and thus Christ actually died as an expiator of the believer’s sin (Acts 3:23).He died that God might "show His righteousness at the present time".
Here the Greek word ehn•theex•een translated "show", conveys the
thought of God, pointing out, manifesting and displaying His righteousness
during ehn to neen keh•ro rendered "during the present time". In
other words, the righteousness of God has been publicly manifested to all men in
the death of Jesus on the cross. Now in dealing with this subject, we must keep
in mind foremost, the fact that the wages of sin is death or to equate it, sin
equals death.

The fact that sin equals death is an inviolable
Biblical principle (Genesis 2:17; Romans 1:32; 5:12,21; 6:16,23). Now for God to
declare that sin equals death, and to forbearingly and patiently put up with
previously committed sins; would be a challenge to the integrity of His
righteousness. Thus Jesus Christ in eternity assumed the penalty of
mankind’s sin, i.e., death, even the death of the cross (Philippians
2:8). This means that in eternity, Jesus took upon Him the burden of
responsibility and liability of our sin nature. So in Christ’s
substitutionary death, God has made a full payment for the believer’s
sin. This payment is effectual for all those who have been designated to
exercise faith in Christ’s blood. Thus God is free to simultaneously maintain
His righteousness and mercifully and graciously deal with
believing sinners. Furthermore, the propitiatory death of Jesus Christ was
necessary for God to be just and the one justifying out of or because of the
faithfulness of Jesus. Now of course, by His very nature, we recognize that
God could not be other than theek•eh•on or "just",
equitable, fair and righteous in His divineness. Note, God’s divine
justness demands strict adherence to the moral principles He has
established for governing the universe. For example sin leads to death; so for
God to arbitrarily recompense sin with life; would destroy His integrity,
which of course He would not do. Please understand this; there was no
way for God to remain just and righteous and at the sametime to
justify believers apart from any outside acceptable and perfect sin substitutes.
Jesus Christ, the sinless God-Man was both qualified and willing to assume the
sin of everyone believing (Romans 3:22) and exercising faith in His blood
(Romans 3:25). So on the basis of His propitiatory death, God remains just in
His character and is also able to justify believers.

Note, as we turn our attention to the last phrase in
verse 26 of Romans chapter three, it states, "the one justifying out of the
faith (faithfulness) of Jesus", as this is a literal rendering of the Greek
phrase kehtheek•eh•oon•dah ton ehk pees•teh•os Ee•ee•soo.
Here the preposition ehk indicates that the source, which makes it
possible for God to justify sinners, is the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
Now it is clear that purely grammatically speaking, the Greek translation is
literally the "faith of Jesus Christ", but rendering it the faithfulness
of Jesus Christ more accurately conveys the intended thought as one cannot be
nor do faith. Any expression of faith must be "faithful". This is in full accord
with Paul’s use of this grammatical construction (Romans 3:22; Galatians 2:16;
3:22; Philippians 3:9). So the absolute faithfulness of Jesus Christ, including
His life and death, is the essence of His righteousness, which is imputed
unto sinners; the reason God is able to justify them (II Corinthians 5:21). It
is sheer folly to talk about God being just and the justifier of sinners apart
from the faithfulness of Christ as initiated by its actuation in eternity and as
finalized by its manifestation of His death on Calvary.

We now continue our discourse in Romans 3:27 from the
King James Version, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of
works? Nay: but by the law of faith". And from the Greek Text, "Where then is
boasting? It is excluded. Through what kind of law? Of works? No, but through
the law of faith." Now granting from the contents of the previous verses that
justification depends entirely on the faithfulness of Christ; as it is
epitomized in His substitutionary death on the cross; we must insist that
there is no room for boasting as far as the provision for justification
is concerned. One very important element of the believer’s mindset is ones
assessment of the appropriation of justification. Here we must in earnest
understand that if we are able to self generate the faith by which we presume to
appropriate justification, then it would generate an avenue and place for human
boasting or bragging.

But if on the other hand, we acknowledge that God
Himself gives us the faith in His appropriation of this justification and
that justification and faith are an integral gift from God; then it
follows that there is no room or place for boasting or bragging.

Next we observe the Greek word kahf·
khee· seen translated "boasting" or
"bragging", as it describes one of the most disgusting traits that an individual
can display. In Galatians chapter six verses 12 through 14, the Apostle Paul
exposes the despicable practice of some Jewish believers who had only one
supreme desire, and that was to exhibit a form of righteousness and
justification based on circumcision. As we look at these three verses of
scripture found in Galatians 6:12-14, we view verse 12 from the King James
Version, "As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you
to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of
Christ".Now from the Greek Text, "As many as want to make a good showing
in the flesh, these compel you to be circumcised, only in order that they may
not be persecuted for the cross of Christ". Here verse 12 gives a classic
example of certain misguided groups of believers found unfortunately in the Body
of Christ (the Church); whose primary aim is to make aehf·
pros•o· pee· seh
rendered, "good showing" in the flesh, i.e., they are determined to exhibit a
good face and have a good or perfect outward appearance.

We consistently find this among many legalists and even
certain denominations that pride themselves in so-called looking and
walking Holy before God. In this particular instance, Paul makes reference
to some Judaizers who had followed his tracks through Galatia and they were
apparently emissaries of a legal faction of Jews, probably located in Jerusalem,
though they were not associated with James, Peter and John (Acts 15:14;
Galatians 2:9). As it evolved, the main object of these Judaizers was to make a
good showing and appearance in the flesh. They wanted to take back to Jerusalem
(their headquarters) a good report of numbers they had circumcised and convinced
to keep the Mosaic Law. In view of all that which is expressed concerning their
intentions, it does not appear that they were genuine, but that they were
promoting the Law to further their own selfish ends (Galatians 1:7; 2:4-5;
5:7-12). Unfortunately we observe too much of this same practice in the
Church today.

Now with respect to the Judaizer’s emphasis on
circumcision, Paul states that these ahn•ahg·
kah· zoo•seen translated "compel", make it
necessary and constrain you to be circumcised. In Acts 15:1, it documents the
incident that Paul and Barnabas encountered as they returned to Antioch of Syria
from their first Missionary journey to Galatia; certain men of this group came
down from Judea and were teaching that, "except you are circumcised according to
the custom of Moses you are not able to be saved". Note, they were saying this
with respect to the Gentile believers; insisting that their faith in Jesus
Christ and His substitutionary death was not nearly enough but that they
were required to be circumcised in the same manner as the Jews who had been
under the Law. Now as a result of the difficulty these men stirred up over the
issue of circumcision, Paul and Barnabas immediately went up to the Jerusalem
council or conference where it was judged that the Gentile converts were not
required to be circumcised. But these diehards in Galatia; in spite of the
Jerusalem council’s decision, were incredibly still compelling the Gentiles to
be circumcised (Galatians 2:3-6).

Note the amazing reason offered by the Judaizer for
compelling all the Galatian believers to be circumcised, "that they would not be
persecuted for the cross of Christ". Oh what subversion! What an arrogant
distortion of the truth! Any dependence on any aspect of the Law
or any dependants on anything outside of that which was manifested
on the cross, testifies that there is no need for the cross. It actually
testifies that the Christ’s sacrifice has no redemptive value or
significance; hence no offense. Now these Judaizers apparently recognized that
Jesus was the Messiah of the Old Testament, however they held to His
Messiah-ship strictly within the context of the Mosaic Law. They obviously
rejected the principle of justification by faith (Acts 15:24; Galatians 1:7-9;
2:4-5). The cross of Jesus Christ apparently had no redemptive significance for
them; they openly rejected its sacrifice as the sole basis for salvation!
Here in this verse the two reasons the Apostle Paul gives for their rejection of
the cross was their desire to make a "good showing in the flesh" and that "they
may not be persecuted". It is critical for us to understand that the cross does
not condemn us but we are born condemned. Contrariwise, the cross
is the only place of manifestation (remember the mercy seat) where we are
freed!

And now for corroboration, we focus on Galatians 6:13
from the King James Version, "For neither they themselves who are circumcised
keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your
flesh. And from the Greek Text, "For neither are those being circumcised keeping
the law themselves, but they desire that you be circumcised, in order that they
may boast in your flesh". Now as we examine this verse, it is obvious that Paul
uses the phrase "those being circumcised", with reference to the Judaizers. Note
the present tense and passive voice suggest that while they are imposing
circumcision on others, they themselves are not taking seriously the keeping of
the Mosaic Law. Here they make a big issue about the physical rite of
circumcision, but neglect the rest of the Law according to their own whims. As
we observe the current operations of Christendom, this seems very familiar,
i.e., men compelling others to do what they are not committed to do themselves.

Now Jesus severely criticized this same kind of conduct
by the Jewish religious leaders (Matthew 15:6; 23:23). Paul likewise, as he
writes to the Roman believers points out the inconsistencies between what the
Jewish leaders demanded and how they themselves actually lived (Romans 2:21-25).
Now in view of this inconsistency on the part of the Judaizers in demanding that
the Galatians be circumcised while they they were not keeping the Law; Paul here
draws the conclusion that they were spurious religious opportunists. They were
not really concerned about the spiritual welfare of the Galatians, but only with
their own personal advantages. These types of individuals have infiltrated the
ministry today and many of God’s precious people are enslaved victims of such.
Paul points out here that circumcision was not important to them as a
requirement of the Mosaic Law. Their main purpose in requiring it was that it
gave them a basis for kahf•khee•son•deh rendered "boasting,
glorying and bragging". Now according to the literal meaning of this verse Paul
definitely writes these Judaizers off as religious charlatans who were totally
motivated by their own personal interests (Galatians 4; 17,21,29: 5:7-9). Now it
is sad but there are many who can be classified in this category today.

Here we continue in Galatians 6:14 from the King James
Version "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world". And from
the Greek Text, "But for me, may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the
world". Here Paul so thoroughly abhorred the desire of the Judaizers to boast in
flesh circumcision that he literally cries out a prayer (optative mood), "May I
never boast in anything except the Cross of Christ". In other words the only
thing that we can boast in is God and His accomplishments through the
efficacious work of Jesus Christ as determined in eternity and manifested upon
Calvary. For the Apostle Paul to see these Judaizers graveling and wallowing in
the mire of flesh boasting, it must have been a disgusting sight! It is even
more disgusting today. In I Corinthians 3:21, Paul condemns all human
boasting, wherein he states -----"So then let no one boast in men". In II
Corinthians 10:17, Paul states, "Let the one boasting boast in the Lord". Thus
again we see that the only legitimate object of boasting is the Lord and
His finished work of redemption! Man’s boasting is an exceeding foul odor
and stench before our Holy and righteous God! No one should ever be found
guilty of glorifying except in that which has been accomplished through the
blood of Jesus, which was shed for His elect. One must realize that it and
it alone represents the power of God unto salvation to everyone believing
(Romans 1:16). Here Paul goes on to elaborate on the significance of the cross
to him personally. Again, boasting should be confined to the one who has
accomplished salvation and that eliminates all of mankind.

And now we revert to Romans 3:27 again from the GreekText,"Where then is boasting? It is excluded. Through what kind of
law? Of works? No, but through the law of faith." As we further exegete this
verse, Paul now raises the question "through what kind of Law was boasting
excluded? Now expanding this question, Paul is asking through what sort, type,
and form of Law was boasting eliminated? Now there are many types of different
laws and principles, which govern human behavior. These fall into two general
categories: (1) those, which operate on the basis of works (ehr•gon)
and (2)those, which operate on the basis of faith (pees•teh•os).
Here Paul flatly denies that a Law, which functions according to works, will
exclude boasting; in fact it will produce it. Now on the other hand,
the Law (principle), which operates according to faith, links believers to the
Savior through His faithfulness as it definitely locks out all
boasting. So this verse of scripture should eliminate every vestige of human
effort and works from salvation in that it is totally a free gift provided by
God (Ephesians 2:8-9). The worth and value of every ministry should be
gauged from one standard; and that is who is magnified and who is
glorified and upon whose work and accomplishment is the foundation
resting upon (I Corinthians 3:9-15). Our faith, which God has deposited in
us, is not of us or out of us. God is the author,
originator and initiator of faith. It is only ours because God granted
it to us.

Now we move to Romans 3:28 from the King James Version,
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the
law". And from the Greek Text,"For we consider that a man is
justified by faith apart from the works of the law". Note the Greek verb loy•ee•zom•eh•thah
translated "counted", "regarding" or "concluded". Here Paul concludes that
believers are justified solely by faith (Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8). Note
the usage of the Greek present passive infinitive theek•eh·
oos· theh rendered "justified", discloses that
God Himself is actively and continuously engaged in declaring His elect
just, rightly approved, acquitted and thus vindicated in His sight.

Notice that God initiates and moves the act of
justification to its fruition. God’s method of identifying the believer with the
Savior is "by faith" (pees•tees), i.e., trust, belief and
confidence in the redemptive power of the blood of Christ (Romans 3:25).

Now one must understand that this justification by
faith is "kho· pees", that is
"apart from", separated from, and totally independent of the Mosaic Law
(Romans 3:20). It must be clearly established that faith is an
inextricable part of grace, thus faith cannot be untied or unraveled from
grace. Faith is the medium through which the provision of God’s grace is
channeled to the believer. Faith is a function of grace, but Law
functions by works. So not only is the believer justified apart from the
works of the Law, but these two principles are mutually exclusive to the
extent that if they are mixed they destroy each other.

Now to further illustrate this point, we direct your
attention to Romans 11:6, wherein the Apostle Paul makes reference to the
incompatibility of grace and works. Here from the King James Version," And if by
grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it
be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work". And from
the Greek Text, "And if by grace, it is no longer out of works, for then grace
is no longer grace." First, we note that in many translations including the King
James Version and the majority Greek Text, there is an added duplicate statement
"And if out of works, no longer is it grace for then the work is no longer
work". This added gloss does not affect the meaning of the content except as it
may distract from focusing on the main thought conveyance. In this verse, the
Apostle Paul succinctly defines what grace is and is not. Since
this verse makes it clear that grace and works are at opposite ends of the
spectrum, they are mutually exclusive. Note it is very important that we
consider the exact meaning of both words (grace and works). Here the Greek noun
kahr•ees translated "Grace", as used in this verse conveys the
meaning of a free gift, free favor, thus God freelygiving all
that is necessary for salvation and the free provision God has made for
us in Christ (John 1:17; II Corinthians 8:9; 9:15). Grace focuses on what
God has done for us in Christ, the benefits of which are freely
proffered to us (II Corinthians 5:21).

Finally, God’s offer of salvation by grace
includes both the provision of it and the means by which it is
appropriated, namely the faithfulness of Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Greek
noun ehr•gon rendered "works", as used in this verse, refers to
that which man endeavors to produce in his flesh to gain acceptance with God.
This word is basically linked in conjunction with the works of the Law. Now
salvation by grace is a free gift from God, whereas the effort to obtain
salvation by any form of works is futile, due to the weakness of the flesh
(Romans 8:3). Note again, if you mix grace and works, you end up eliminating
both of them. In other words they effectively cancel each other out. So we need
to be aware of the deleterious results, which follow simultaneously holding to
different portions of the Bible that teach both Law and grace. Now as we have
already observed, Law avers that man saves himself by his works whereas grace
avers that God in Christ has done the work necessary for salvation. Law makes
salvation totally dependent upon what man does; therefore there is no assurance
that one is saved. Grace makes salvation totally dependent upon what God has
done, it is an accomplished fact for a believer; therefore we have assurance
that we are saved. Law states that the person who has done its works will live
(Romans 10:5), whereas grace states that believing, i.e., exercising one’s
God-given faith identifies the believer with the life that is in Christ (Romans
8:2; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3-4; II Timothy 1:1; I John 5:20).

Note that the express differences are only some of the
basic differences between Law/work and grace. These two systems operate
according to opposite principles, which if mixed, cancel the
effectiveness of each other. Now to confuse the Law/Works Covenant of the Old
Testament with the Grace/Faith Covenant given to the Church destroys the
effectiveness of both as to their respective intents. Also to confuse the
Law/Work Covenants of the Messianic Kingdom, presented in the Synoptic Gospels
and the first eight chapters of Acts with the Grace/Faith Covenant presented in
the New Testament epistles, more specifically the epistles written by and
through the Apostle Paul; is to be faced with many conflicting and contradictory
statements. Now the thinking elect of God who recognizes these obvious
contradictions as one approaches the Bible in a very literal manner; will be
forced to acknowledge that these portions of the Bible deal with
different subjects, different economics, some which are governed on
the basis of Law while others are governed on the basis of grace. The
non-thinking elect of God with a more cynical frame of mind and we say this
in love who is too involved in other matters to investigate just
what the Bible really teaches, may in his slothful academics abandoned it as a
trustworthy document due to these seeming contradictions.

Notice, the most subtle, and perhaps the most
devastating result of mixing Law/works with Grace, is the subconscious effect it
has on those who do so. Now it is sad, but it is a fact that most, yes most
believers do not personally and prayfully study their way through the
scriptures. Most believers depend upon some other person or persons to tell them
what the Bible teaches. Consequently if their teacher or Pastor or mentor does
not adequately distinguish Mosaic and Kingdom Laws, with their work covenants
from Grace Mystery truth for the Church, then inconsistent conflicting thoughts
will be impinging upon their minds. As this insidious process goes on and on, at
a conscious or subconscious level, without ever being reversed; it will tend to
dilute their devotion and attitude toward the truth of the word of God.

In essence, Grace Mystery Truth, given to the Church
should be explicitly obeyed. However, when opposed by misapplied Laws and
principles from the Mosaic Law or Kingdom, the internal mental struggle
that ensues robs believers of a keen appreciation for Grace Truth, the
Gospel of the Grace of God including the knowledge to understand and
readiness to obey it. So instead of enjoying the blissfulness of spiritual
buoyancy in the body of Christ, they often drift into a state of spiritual
indifference and coolness. This, as the record will testify is the most
widespread and devastating resulting of canceling out grace by
mingling Law with it. This is why an uncompromising stand has to be taken
against injecting the Mosaic Law or Kingdom Law into this Church age. The works
of the Law mitigate grace, in fact as Paul states in this verse 6 of Romans
chapter 11, "grace is no longer grace".

Now we turn to Romans 3:29 from the King James Version,
"Is he the God of the Jews only?
is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:" And from the Greek
Text, "Or is God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, also of
the Gentiles,"Here dispensationally speaking, Paul posed a very probing
question; and he answered it. Now the question was asked in light of the
blessings that Israel enjoyed as a result of God’s promise to Abraham, and in
light of the historical background that God has dealt with His covenant people
Israel from Abraham on, this was a question that needed an answer.

This answer must be linked to another question Paul
posed in Romans 3:1; where we read first from the King James Version, "What
advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Now
we read from the Greek Text, "What then is the advantage of the Jew, or what is
the profit of the circumcision?" Here, It is critical for one to cling to
the provisions afforded through the grace dispensation, thus forsakingall other dispensations as they relate to ones salvation.

Now in the previous context, Paul has been rough on the
inconsistent Law-breaking Jews. In view of the tough stance he has taken against
the self-righteous Jews, it is appropriate that he cites some of their
advantages. Note that in spite of all the problems the Jews have, when they are
compared to the pre-grace debased Gentiles, there are some very distinct
advantages. Note that the Greek noun pehr•ees•son translated
"advantages" as used here, means that the Jews has something over and above and
out beyond the pre-grace Gentiles. Now the second part of this question is an
integral of the first, namely "What is the profit of the circumcision of the
Jew? Here, Paul asks, "What is the o•phehl•ee•ah rendered "profit,
help or benefit" of belonging to the concision or Jewish Commonwealth? Thus the
basic question posed in Romans 3:1 is, "What is the advantage and profit of
being a Jew?

The answer is found in Romans 3:2 from the King James
Version, "Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the
oracles of God". And from the GreekText, "Much in every way. For
indeed first, because they were entrusted with the oracles of God". Notice the
phrase "Much in every way", may also be translated, "Great in every way" or
"great in every respect". Now the essence of this phrase is that under the grace
dispensation, the Jews have many advantages (Romans 9:4-5). As it is
conveyed, the pro•ton rendered "first", or "chiefly" or "most
important" advantage is that God has entrusted to them His loy•ee•ah
rendered "oracles" or that which he had spoken, i.e., His word or His messages
for past dispensations. Now for each of the four times the word loy•ee•ah
or "oracles" is used in the New Testament, it depicts words revealed by
God (Acts 7:38; Hebrews 5:12; I Peter 4:11). God’s entrustment of His oracles
with Israel is a confirmed historical fact (Deuteronomy 4:7-8; Psalms 103:7;
Psalms 147:19-20).

So why did God reveal His word to Israel? That
question includes another question, "Why did God call Abraham, the father
of Israel (Genesis 12:1-4)? The answer is notin Abraham but inGod, the one who sovereignly chose Abraham to be the progenitor of
a new nation, Israel (the Jews). Now God’s choice of Abraham, the Father of His
special people, the Jews, is the reason He has entrusted His word with them. God revealed His word to Israel because and only because it was the pleasure
of His will.

Here in Romans 3:29, Paul asserts through the grammar
he uses that God is also the God of the Gentiles. It is absolutely true that God
has given the Israelites some special privileges prior to this present church
age (Romans 3:1-2; 9:45). But now both Jews and Gentiles are
equally dependant on the mercy of God for their salvation (Romans 11:28-32). It
is true that during the transition period, the gospel was first preached to the
Jews (Romans 1:16), but now God is equally interested in
justifying believers regardless of their race or origin. The fact that God is
also the God of the Gentiles testifies that we have now moved our welfare
out of the dispensations of past darkness into the glorious light of the
dispensation of the Grace of God where Jews and Gentiles equally share
the unequaled blessings of those who are placed into the Body of Christ.

Now we move to Romans 3:30 from the King James Version
"Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and
uncircumcision through faith". And from the Greek Text, "If indeed God is one,
who will justify the circumcision out of faith and the uncircumcision through
faith". This verse begins with the Greek word ee•pehr, which
consists of the Greek conjunction ee with the enclitic particle pehr joined to it, which emphasizes the meaning of the conjunction ee (if). The Apostle Paul uses this compound Greek word several times
in the New Testament (Romans 3:30; 8:9,17; I Corinthians 8:5; 15:15; II
Thessalonians 1:6). In each of these passages it strengthens the condition or
premise posed, and it may be translated "if indeed", "if truly", "if it’s a
fact" or "since". In this verse, there was no question in Paul’s mind
about God being one, He God is truly one; it is a fact (I
Corinthians 8:6). Here Paul’s main burden is to explain how the one true
God will justify both Jews and Gentiles. First he states that God "will
justify the circumcision out of faith". Now the Greek verb theek•eh•o•seh
translated "will justify", is in the future tense, denoting that God will esteem
as righteous, just and acquitted the circumcision, i.e., the Israelites or Jews.
But how will He effectuate this justifying? The answer is ehk pees•teh•os
rendered "out of faith". Here the Greek preposition ehk as
used in the ablative case, points to faith as the source, which takes
hold of justification. So if this faith were humanly generated it would be
derived from works not grace. But since it is the result of grace (Ephesians
2:8-9), it is the gift of God freely imparted to those chosen (Ephesians 1:4; II
Timothy 2:10).

Now speaking with reference to the Gentiles, the
ahk•rov•ees•tee· ahn rendered "uncircumcision",
Paul states that God will justify them thee•ah tees pees•teh•os
rendered "through faith". Here in this phrase, we have the preposition
thee•ah or "through" as used with the genitive case which points to
faith as the agency through which justification is obtained. Note this
same phrase "through faith" is used in Ephesians 2:8 as well as Romans
3:25,27,31. Now on the basis of the manner in which Paul uses these two Greek
phrases in his epistles: (1). ehk pees•teh•os rendered "out of
faith" and (2). thee•ah tees pees•teh•os rendered "through faith";
there is no justification for distinguishing between how God justifies
Jews and Gentiles. Both are justified by the faithfulness of Christ, as there is
only one source and means of God justifying and identifying His elect, i.e.,
through the faith in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ that God implants
in them (Romans 10:17). Possibly for the sake of variety and greater breadth of
thought flow, we have the conveyances of the two expressions thereby giving a
more comprehensive view of faith as both the source and agent through which God
justifies believers. Therefore we must conclude that justification is both by
and through the effectuation and exercise of the gift of faith, which
God freely gives.

Now we turn to Romans 3:31 from the King James Version,
"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the
law".Andfrom the Greek Text, "Therefore do we annul the law
through faith? Let it never be, but we establish the law." Note the burden of
this verse is to show that faith has not made the Mosaic Law ineffective,
but has established the purpose for which it was given. Here the
apostle Paul raises the question, "Do we annul the Law through faith?
Since this verse is open to misinterpretation we need to carefully
consider the meaning of the two leading verbs in it. First, the Greek
verb kaht•ahrg•oo•mehn translated "annul", is comprised of the
Greek preposition kaht•ah (down) prefixed to the Greek verb
ahry•eh•o, which denotes the state of being inactive, inoperative, or
idle. This compound verb infers the act of downgrading the Law to a position of
uselessness, hence to abrogate, nullify and make it void of any value. Now
according to all of Paul’s writings, the Law was not an intrinsic part of
God’s eternal purpose, but was added for a given period of time until
Christ came and the ushering in of faith (Galatians 3:19-25). Note the
Law was an essential forerunner of faith because it developed a
consciousness of the exceeding sinfulness of sin; the prerequisite to incite
believers to be justified by faith Corinthians 3:19-20; 7:13). Now in view of
what is written in I Timothy 1:8-10, the moral principles of the Law are
still applicable to Lawless sinners, in condemning their abominable
practices but not to those who are justified in Christ (Romans 6:14).

Now as far as faith annulling the Law was concerned,
Paul uses the Greek grammatical construction mee yehn•ee•to
rendered "let it never be". In other words absolutely not! In Matthew
5:17-18, Jesus declared "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
law, till all be fulfilled". Now the inability of the Law to free us was not
due to any fault of the Law itself. The Law within itself is holy and
righteousness. Romans 8:3 states (KJV), "For what the law could not do, in
that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:Nowfrom
the Greek Text, "For the impotency of the law, in that it was weak through the
flesh, God, having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh." Note it was the weakness of the
flesh that caused impotence of the Law to free us, thus God sent Jesus in
the "likeness of sinful flesh" and though His righteousness, "condemned
sin in the flesh", in order that the right acts of the Law might be fulfilled
in us. So the Mosaic Law in a preparatory sense was in full effect until the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ was consummated on Calvary. Note
from that time on God has been justifying believers who are identified with
the faithfulness of Christ through faith (Galatians 3:22; 24-25;
Philippians 3:9).

Now we view the final phrase of this verse (31), "But
we establish the Law", particularly the Greek verb ees•tah•no•mehn
translated "establish". This verb basically denotes that the Law stands firm
or confirmed. Note if God’s underlying reason for giving the Law
was to make men righteous, it would have to be stated that He utterly
miscalculated the weakness of the flesh for it never made
any man righteous (Romans 8:3). It is absolutely true what Moses
wrote regarding the righteousness out of the Law, "that the one who has done it
will live by it", but it failed because no one ever did it (Romans
3:20; 7:21-23). Now in the total gamut of God’s ultimate purpose
in giving the Law, it was to make men righteous, but this
necessitated making men conscious of their sinfulness, that the
elect of God would forsake their human efforts and believe in Christ, who
is the end of the Law unto righteousness (Romans 10:4).

As we examine the beginning of Romans chapter 4, Paul
recapitulates the fact of Abraham's position as the progenitor and Father of the
Jews. Here Paul also reviews the established principle that Abraham believed God
and as a consequence, he learned that God counted it unto him for righteousness
(Galatians 3:6). Romans 4:1, indicates that Abraham did not believe God in
order to becomerighteous, but having believed God, he discovered
that God imputed it to him for righteousness.

Now we examine Romans 4:2 from the King James Version,
"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not
before God. And from the Greek Text, "For if Abraham was justified out of works,
he has boasting; but not before God." In continuing the thought of the previous
verse, If Abraham ehv

•ree•keh•neh
or "found" that he was justified out of works, ehkh•ee
kahf•khee•mah
rendered "he has boasting. In other words, if through his encounter with God,
Abraham discovered that he was justified out of the source of, or ehz ehr•gon
rendered "out of works, then he obviously had reason and ground to boast and
brag. If the man Abraham produced his own righteousness, a prerequisite
for justification before men, he would be entitled to boast according to human
standards.

For the sake of argument, Paul says, if we grant that
Abraham was justified out of works and had reason for boasting, then we must
emphatically affirm that this justification and boasting was "Not before God".
Men who haughtily brag about their so-called good works, justness and
humanitarianism, should listen to this pungent statement------They are not
justified pros Theh

•on
rendered "with God" or in His presence. In this sense only can one boast of
one’s accomplishments but this is not possible concerning righteousness and
justification.

Now we move Romans 4:3, from the King James Version,
"For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him
for righteousness". And from the Greek Text, "For what does the Scripture say?
And Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness." Here the
Apostle refers to the Old Testament Scriptures as he deals with the subject at
hand; more specifically Genesis 15:6 and Galatians 4:6-14. With respect to the
subject of Grace Mystery Truth, there was no such corroboration, because nothing
was written regarding it (Ephesians 3:5,9). Both the Old and New Testaments
represented the final court of appeal for Paul in their respective spheres (II
Timothy 3:14-17). Here the authority of the scripture settles the issue, without
a doubt justification is by orthrough faith!

Now granting that Abraham was a totally depraved sinner by nature (Ephesians
2:3) and was the recipient of divine faith (Romans 10:17; Ephesians 2:8), it
logically follows that his faith was counted for righteousness, as it was the
work of God on his behalf. We will further deal more extensively with the
corroboration of the Old Testament scriptures to the writings of Paul as we move
through the latter verses of this section of the study.

Now we move to Romans 4:4 from the King James Version,
"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt". And
from the Greek Text, "But to the one working the wages are not counted according
to grace but according to debt". This verse clearly infers that Abraham’s belief
in God was an expression of the grace of God. If God had required Abraham
to do something for his righteousness, such as to self-generate a
faith-mind-set or to do certain physical works, then the
righteousness given to him would absolutely be considered payment for what
he had earned, hence God paying His debt to Abraham. Here the use of the Greek
conjunction ahl

•lah,
the strong adversative, rendered "but", emphasizes that the reward for
works, in contrast to grace is figured as a debt. This verse identifies the
act of believing God with Grace. Now inverting this statement ...
grace enables God -hating enemies of God to believe God (Romans
3:24; 11:5-6). To this end, we can definitely state that works and rewards are
antithetical to grace and imputation.

Next we turn to Romans 4:5 from the King James Version,
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifeth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness." And from the Greek Text, "But to the
one not working, but believing on the One justifying the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness." Here we note that unlike Romans 4:4, verse 5 deals
with the elect not working but believing on God. According to this
verse there is absolutely no room for justification to be acquired
throughboth works and faith. As we have stated many times in our
previous discourses, these two principles are mutually exclusive, and
cannot be mixed; works incur debt and grace incurs righteousness. In this
verse, the Apostle Paul refers to God as "The one justifying the ungodly". The
Greek noun ahs

•eev•ee
rendered "ungodly", depicts those who are wicked, profane and void of respect
for God (Romans 5:6; I Timothy 1:9; I Peter 4:18). It is so irrational to think
that any ungodly man has inherent in him either the desire
or capacity to believe on God whom he despises (John 3:19-20; 6:44). The
language used in this verse portrays God as the sole justifier of the
ungodly; which means that he convicts them of sin (John 16:8) and imparts to the
elect faith in Himself (I Timothy 1:14) on the basis of which he
declares that they are righteous.

Now the grace that God extends to believers includes
both the substitutionary death of Christ that which makes it possible for Him
(God) to be just and the justifier of the ungodly and the faith,
which identifies the sinner with His death. Note, as we have previously
observed, the very essence of the righteousness of God isJesus
Christ (I Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 3:9). Finally, understand that after
God has given faith to the believer, it belongs to that person, i.e., as it is
designated pees

•tees
ahf•too
or "his faith". It must be clearly understood that ones faith does not
belong to such one because it did not originate in or from such one but it is
theirs simply because God has deposited it in their heart and they have become
the possessor of a glorious gift from God.

Now we consider Romans 4:6 from the King James Version,
"Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God
imputeth righteousness without works." And from the Greek Text, "Even as David
also spoke about the blessing of the man to whom God counts righteousness apart
from works." Here Paul makes reference to God's dealing with King David as he
continues to focus on God's beneficial blessings to men in ages prior to the
grace dispensation. In corroborating the fact that God counts believers
righteousness on the basis of faith rather than works, Paul has already appealed
to the example of Abraham in the Old Testament (Romans 4:3).

For further evidence from the Old Testament, Paul now
appeals to that which the Holy Spirit has spoken through David as recorded in
Psalms 32:1-2. There are a number of quotations from the Old Testament in the
epistle to the Romans, which certainly suggests that there were many Jewish
believers in the church at Rome. Here Paul refers to David's testimony
concerning ton mahk•ar•ees•mon rendered "the blessing", or
happiness of the man whom God reckoned righteous apart form works. This Greek
phrase conveys the idea that the person who has imputed righteousness apart from
works is a happy, blessed and felicitous individual in an enviable position. The
happy state is the result of a sovereign act of God ------- A divine declaration
that believers are accounted righteous kho•rees ehr•gon rendered
"apart from works", i.e., distinct from, separated from and independent of works
(Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:9).

We continue with Paul's statement of David's testimony
as we read Romans 4:7 from the King James Version, "Saying, Blessed are they
whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Now from the Greek
Text, "Bless are those whose iniquities have been forgiven, and whose sins have
been covered." In this and the following verse, Paul cites the evidence for what
he said in the preceding verse as recorded in Psalms 32:1-2. Here Paul continues
to quote David who describes a group (plural) of people who have an enviable
status because they are blessed or happy above all
others. So what have they done to obtain this status? The passive voice makes it
clear that they did absolutely nothing. It is apparent that God is the
one who is wholly responsible for their felicitous state (John 20:29).
Now according to David this happiness is the result of God’s
sovereignty doing two things. First, those who have had their iniquities
forgiven are blessed ones. The Greek verb ahph•eh•thee•sahn
translated "Have been forgiven", is in the aorist tense and passive voice and
means that their ahn•om•ee•eh rendered "iniquities" thus
lawlessness, and transgressions have been forgiven, sent away dismissed and
pardoned. Second, those who have their sins covered are blessed ones. The Greek
verb ehp•eh•kahl•eeph•thee•sahntranslated, "have been covered",
is also in the aorist tense and passive voice and means that their ah•mahr•tee•ehor sins, i.e., missing the mark of God's standardand errors
have been covered or had a cover placed on them or covered over. It certainly
must be recognized that prior to the cross God was able to forgive
iniquities and cover sins in view of his foreordained redemptive purpose in
Jesus Christ Acts 2:23; 4:28; Romans 3:25-26). Now on this side of the cross we
understand that there is no needfor a covering, because it has
now been manifested that the blood of Jesus has completely eradicated and wiped
away the sins of His elect in this dispensation (Hebrews 9:22,26,28;
10:10,14,18).

Here we view Paul’s final statement of David's
testimony in Romans 4:8 from the King James Version, "Blessed is the man to whom
the Lord will not impute sin." And now from the Greek Text, "Blessed is the man
to whom the Lord never counts sin." Now earlier in Romans 4:6 we observed that
Paul used the singular number instead of the plural. Since we have the Greek
singular, ahn•eer rendered "man" in this verse; we logically
assume that its summary truth most accurately confirms the point Paul is making;
that a man is counted righteous and justified apart from works.
David's forgiven iniquities and covered sins spoken of in Romans 4:7 are summed
up as "not counted sin" in verse 8. Again, note the Greek verb loy•ees•ee•tehthat is translated "counts", may also be rendered "reckons,
imputesor calculates". The use of the double Greek negatives
oo mee in this verse, suggests that David had in mind one of God's
elect,a blessed man, when he said that the Lord never counts
or reckons sin to him (Acts 13:48; Ephesians 1:4; II Timothy 2:10).

For God not tocounta
person's sin against him on the basis of the redemption in Christ (I Corinthians
1:30) is an essential step in reckoning him righteous in Christ (II Corinthians
5:21). In summarizing Romans 4:6-8, we can assert that what David says
negatively fully affirms what Paul states positivelyand that is, where
sin is not counted, there is righteousness,

Now we look at Romans 4:9 from the King James Version,
"Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the
uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for
righteous." And from the Greek Text, "Therefore, is this blessing upon the
circumcision or also upon the uncircumcision? For we say, "faith was counted to
Abraham for righteousness." Here having cited examples of two Israelites
(Abraham and David) who have been blessed with the righteousness of God, Paul
does not wish it misunderstood that this righteousness is for the Jews only. So
he deals with the issues by raising the question, "Has it been given to the

circumcision (Jews) or also to the uncircumcision (Gentiles)? Now there was no
question about it having been given to the Jews, which is obvious from these two
examples, but was it keh rendered "also", given to the Gentiles?
Here Paul recognized that his statement, "Faith was counted to Abraham for
righteousness", would on the surface at least, be interpreted to favor the Jews.
However the determining issue is whether Abraham's faith was counted for
righteousness before or after he was circumcised.

The answer to this is given in Romans 4:10 from the
King James Version, "How was it then reckoned? When he was in circumcision, or
in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision but in uncircumcision." And from the
Greek Text, "Therefore, how was it counted? While he was in a state of
circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not while he was in a state of circumcision
but in uncircumcision." This verse answers a very simple question and that is,
Faith was counted unto Abraham for righteousness while he was still anuncircumcised Gentile. The fact of the matter is that righteousness
is not dependent upon circumcision but faith alone, completely independent
of circumcision or anything else. Paul's main point is to demonstrate that
there can be no substitution of circumcision as a perquisite for righteousness
and that the function of circumcision does not result in
righteousness. Paul's argument is that if faith were counted for righteousness
to Abraham while he was uncircumcised as a Gentile, then it would follow that
God's righteousness isalso available to Gentiles. It is a
fact that today in this age of grace, God is counting both individual Jewsand Gentiles righteous on the basis of faith alone(Galatians 3:6,7,29).

Now we continue in Romans 4:11 from the King James
Version, "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness
of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father
of all that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be
imputed unto them also." And from the Greek Text, "And he received circumcision
as a sign, a seal of the righteousness of faith which he had in uncircumcision,
unto the end to be the father of all those believing among the uncircumcision,
unto the end to reckon to them righteousness." Here we note that this verse
defines the spiritual significance of circumcision to the Jews. It was first
given to Abraham as a see•mee•on rendered "sign" or "mark" or
"token" and as a sphrahy•ee•tah rendered "seal" or that which
fastens and secures. It is very important to note that as a sign (which was
required in that dispensation), circumcision sealed and secured the
righteousness of faith, which was given to Abraham while he was uncircumcised.

Now God's ultimate purpose for doing this was unto the
end to make Abraham the Father of all believers among the Gentiles, that
in turn He might give to them righteousness based upon faith
(Romans 1:5; 16:26; Galatians 3:8).

Here to further illustrate this point, we focus on
Galatians 3:8 from the King James Version "And the scripture foreseeing that God
would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto
Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." And from the Greek Text,
"And the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles out of faith,
preached the good news to Abraham, that all the nations shall be blessed in
you." Note that God's promise to Abraham included three things:

1. A specific locale in which to dwell

2. That his seed will become a great nation

3. All (elect of) the Gentile nations would
be blessed in his progeny.

Now as we survey the essence of this promise we must do
so in light of dispensational arrangements. Clearly the primary
historical setting of this promise, very obviously refers to the time when all
the nations will share in Israel’s Messianic Kingdom Blessings. The
coming and establishment of this Kingdomis the great burden of
Old Testament prophecy. The Messianic Kingdom message vividly details how God
will fully accomplish the fulfillment of His promise. Here Paul makes reference
to the grahph•ee rendered "scripture", i.e., the documentation in
the Old Testament, which looked down through the corridor of time and foresaw
the day when God would justify "tah Ehth•nee" rendered "The
Gentile", by faith. In view of this, the scripture recorded this promise of
future blessing in Abraham that was to encompass all the nations. In Paul's
documentation we should be reminded that the Holy Spirit is the writer,
therefore the spiritual meaning is validated as a legitimate corroboration of
this promise. Thus we see the relevancy of the truth in this present
dispensation regarding the spiritual meaning of this promise in the process of
being fulfilled today, i.e. all believers in all nations are sharing the
application of the Abrahamic blessing of justificationby
faith.

As we return to Romans 4:11, we note that which Paul
writes in this verse pertains to Abraham’s circumcision as a sign and seal as it
was specifically given to him to mark and secure his faith - righteousness while
he was in a state of uncircumcision. It must be fully understood from this fact
that neither circumcision, baptism, the gift of tongues nor any other
conditional ceremony, is relevant to justification. Abraham's uncircumcision
relates to him as the father of those believing among the Gentiles. Nowhere
in any of Paul's epistles does he make the slightest suggestion that
circumcision or any other substitutes for it have spiritual significance for
members of the Body of Christ. God’s elect are reckoned, counted, imputed,
calculated and declaredrighteous solely on the basis of the gift
of faith, which God has freely imparted to us. No ceremony, ritual, rite
nor any other man made or man-contributed entity could ever contribute to one’s
declared standard of Godliness which Godand God alone
bestows upon those who are sanctified independent of everything except His
grace.

Now we move to Romans 4:12 from the King James Version,
"And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only,
but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had
being yet uncircumcised." And the Greek Text, "also the father of the
circumcision, to those not out of the circumcision only, but also to those
walking in the steps of the while-in-uncircumcision faith of our father
Abraham." In the previous verse Paul establishes the fact that Abraham is the
father of the believing Gentiles faith-wise and now he states in this verse that
he is also the father of circumcision. In this regard, he is not only the father
of those who are notout of the circumcision, namely the Gentiles,
but he is also the father of those exercising the same faith he exercised when
he was uncircumcised like the Gentiles. Note in this verse Paul affirms that
Abraham is the father of three groups:

1.The Jews in the flesh who are his progeny.

2. The Gentiles who believe according to divinely
implanted faith.

3. The believers in this church age who follow the pattern
of Abraham’s faith.

The strong adversative conjunction ahl•lah
rendered "but" as used in this verse emphasizes the importance of the third
group. Here he states that there are those who are stee•zoo•seen
translated "walking", as in a straight line advancing in a row and fashioning
their conduct according to the eekh•neh•seen rendered "step", thus
footsteps or tracks of Abraham's faith. Now the Greek grammar is very clear but
very awkward in attempting to express this conveyance in English. Here it is
expressed as "the while-in uncircumcised faith of our father Abraham." The
specific Abrahamic faith Paul speaks of this third group (believers) following
is that which Abraham had before the rite of circumcision was given to him. This
third group (believers) indiscriminately includes all who today are counted
righteousness on the basis of their Abrahamic type faith.

Now we add Romans 4:13 to our study from the King James
Version, "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to
Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of
faith." And from the Greek Text, "For the promise to Abraham or his seed, that
he would be heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the
righteousness of faith." The book of Genesis positively affirms that God
promised to make Abraham and his seed a great nation in whom all the families of
the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:2-3; 18:18; 22:17-18). Now what were the
conditions and circumstances surrounding the giving of this promise? Paul states
that it was not given thee•ah or "through" the Law, i.e., through
the agency of the Law; and this is logical because the Mosaic Law was not given
until over 400 years later (Galatians 3:16-18). On the other hand, the promise
was given thee•ah or "through" the righteousness of faith, i.e.,
God having infused faith into Abram, a Chaldean sun worshipper, then counted him
righteousness on the basis of his faith and through the agency of this faith
gave him and his seed the promise. We must keep in mind that Abram in
himselfhad no faith in God. But when God infused faith in him, this
faith became his own personal faith, which enabled him to be counted
righteousness, and hence qualified to be given the promise. So it must be
understood that if there is any good in any person it has it
origin in God (Matthew 12:34; Luke 18:19).

As we continue with the theme of justification, we now
move to Romans 4:20 from the King James Version, "He staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;"
And from the Greek Text, "but with respect to the promise of God he was not
caused to waver in unbelief, but was made strong in faith, having given glory to
God." Here we proceed to the portion of Paul's discourse where he focuses on
God’s pro-active dealings with Abraham. In this regard, note God's power to
dominate and control the responsive and passive actions of Abraham. Here the
Greek prepositional phrase ees theh teen ehp•ahyy•ehl•ee•ahntoo Theh•oo translated "But with respect to the promise of God', may
also be rendered "But with regarding the promise of God". Now even though
Abraham observed the physical factors, which militated against the fulfillment
of the promise of God given to him, he was not "caused to waver in unbelief".
The Greek verb and negative adverb "oo thee•ehk•ree•thee"
translated "he was not caused to waver", is in the aorist tense and passive
voice, which means that He (God) did not permit his (Abraham’s) depravity to
cause him to waver, vacillate or fall into a quandary of unbelief. We can be
assured that Satan undoubtedly did everything he could to get Abraham
to reflect on the obstacles, which stood in the way of the fulfillment of the
promise, such as the sexual deadness of his wife and himself, but God did not
allow him to sway to and fro in unbelief (James 1:6; 2:4).

Here the Apostle Paul uses the strong adversative
conjunction ahl•lah translated "but" to emphasize that instead of
wavering in unbelief, Abraham "was made strong in faith". Again, it is very
important to note that the Greek verb ehn•eh•thee•nahm•o•thee
translated "was made strong", is also in the aorist tense and passive voice,
which makes it obvious that Godwas the one who made him strong,
powerful and able to excel in faith. Since God gave Abraham faith in the first
place, it logically follows that he would be the strengthener of his faith (I
Timothy 1:12-14). The
last Greek phrase in this verse speaks of Abraham as "Having given glory to
God". The key word in this verse is the aorist participle thoos
translated "having given", which means that Abraham gave glory to God prior to
the time when God made him strong in faith. In spite of Satan's efforts to
destroy Abraham's confidence in God's promise, the very opposite resulted, i.e.,
Abraham was divinely stimulated to give thox•ahn rendered "praise
and honor", to God. Subsequent to Abraham glorifying God, Paul states that God
strengthened his faith.

Generally speaking, in divine-human relations, God is
always the initiator, the one who in His sovereigntycalls, gives
grace including faith and makes righteous and alive in Christ (Ephesians 1:4; II
Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:4-9). So after the believer is made alive
and is capable of responding to God; it appears that this verse is teaching that
in response to being glorified, God increased or energized Abraham's faith. By
carefully adhering to the significance of the two passive voices used in this
verse, we have observed that Satan was vying against God for the control of
Abraham. Satan's strategy was to destroy Abraham's faith in God's word, the
promise that God made to him. Abraham however did not succumb to this satanic
device, but as one chosen and given faith by God he persevered and gave glory to
God (Matthew 10:22; II Timothy 2:12). Abraham was caused to utilize his
God-given faith and through it withstood the onslaught of Satan; glorified God
and as a result, God made him even stronger in faith. Here we observe the
principle that as we use that which God has given to us, He increases it. In
summarizing this verse, the process of God’s workings are, that Abraham
exercised his God given faith by giving glory to God and as a result God
strengthened his faith.

As we continue this vein of study, we move to Romans
4:21 from the King James Version, "And being fully persuaded that, what he had
promised, he was able also to perform." And from the Greek Text, "and being
fully convinced that what He had promised He is also able to do." This verse
gives insight into the dept of Abraham's faith. Here the Greek aorist participle
plee•roph•or•ee•thees translated "being fully convinced"; is a
Greek compound verb derived from plee•rees and phor•ehs. It literally means to fully and completely bear or carry,
hence, as used in this verse, it has the thought of being fully assured,
completely convinced and entirely persuaded. Since this verb is in
the passive voice, it means that God was the one who had fully
convinced Abraham that his promise was true. So when we recognize that God was
the initiator of Abraham's faith and that apart from God he would have
fallen flat on his face before Satan, as he had certainly done in the past; then
it would necessarily follows that God is the one who completely convinced him to
believe His word. God not only gave Abraham the promise, but he also
gave him the faiththat fullypersuaded him that it would be
fulfilled.

To further illustrate this point we focus on Hebrews,
chapter 11 and observe the actions of the so-called heroes of faith. Here
we pose the question, what is faith? In Hebrews 11:1, in the King James Version,
a general definition of faith is given as the "substance" of things hoped
for. Here the Greek word eep•os•tahs•ees is rendered "essence" or
"confidence". It literally means to be placed or stand under -------- in
general something that has been put under; thus that which is used for a base or
foundation or subsistence, or existence. As used in this verse,
"substance" denotes confidence or confidentexpectation
(Romans 8:19; II Corinthians 9:4; 11:17; Hebrews 3:14). In Hebrews 11:1, faith
is also described as the "evidence" of things seen or unseen. Hence the Greek
word ehl•ehg•khosis rendered "proof" or re-proof or conviction;
it is used only twice in Paul's writing, i.e., in this verse and also in II
Timothy 3:16. It implies not merely the basis of which one is convinced or
convicted, but also the manifestation of the truth or essence of that basis.

The Greek word pees•tees rendered
"faith", is defined as total unconditional trust and commitment.
The key word here is unconditional; this can only be applied to God
and God alone. Only God and God alone can be the substance
or the basisor foundationor sub-stance that
engenders confidence or a confident expectation against all odds. Only God is
able to convince or convict our minds on the fact that He (God) is the very
essence and manifestation or truth (John 1:14,17; 14:6,17; 15:26; 16:13;
17:17,19; II Corinthians 4:2; 6:7; Galatians 2:5,14; I John 2:27; 3:18,19; 4:6;
5:6). Thus faith is defined as that which gives substance or essence to
hoped-for things and proof to not-seen things. These ingredients are noted in
God's dealing and the resultant witness of His elect, not only in the testimony
of those recorded in this eleventh chapter of Hebrews, but in all the
dispensations. Notice the grammatical construction of all the testimonial verses
of this chapter. God's input is always in the active voice whereas
everything that is ever attributed to the testimony of His elect (Abel, Enoch,
Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Rehab, Gideon, Barak,
Samson, David, Samuel, as well as the prophets); including all the
noble acts of all of these men and women, are in the aorist tense and the
passive voice.

They were all convinced and convicted by
God to do the things they did. In other words, God caused them to believe
and caused them to exercise the faith that he gifted to
them for the purpose of carrying out His will. There is an old song that is
still sung in some churches and the expression of the words is: "When you see or
observe me walking, talking, thinking or doing that which is right. …… God is
using or controlling me". The Apostle Paul exhorts in Ephesians 5:18, "befilledorcontrolled" by the spirit of God. So the subject
in Hebrews, chapter 11 as well as Paul's writings in Romans chapter 4 is
faith, which is the gift of God.

As we revert to Romans 4:21, we exegete the latter
portion of this verse in focusing on what Abraham was convinced God would do,
namely: "that what he had promised he is also able to do". The Greek phrase

o ehp•eeyy•ehl•teh
translated "What he had promised", is in the perfect tense and passive voice. It
refers back to the promise, which God Himself had made to Abraham at a given
point of time in the past and affirms that it is still in effect. Granting
the validityof the promise and that it is still in effect, Satan's
argument was that God could not fulfill it due to physiological conditions.
God's thee•nah•tosrendered "power" and might was being
challenged. In spite of this, Abraham was fully convinced that God did have
the ability and power pee•ee•sehrendered "to do" or "to perform"
what He promised.

Now we move to Romans 4:22 from the King James Version,
"And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." And from the Greek
Text, "Wherefore also it was counted to him for righteousness." This verse
reverts to the truth introduced in Romans 4:3 and restated in Romans 4:9,
namely, Abraham's faith was counted to him for righteousness". Having
related the historical facts of how Abraham believed God against all odds in
Romans 18-21, Paul states thee•o rendered "wherefore", "on which
account" or "for this reason", it was eh•Ioy•ees•thee translated
"counted", reckoned or calculated for righteousness. Note, Paul gives a glimpse
of the circumstances involved in Abraham's believing God in spite of Satan's
efforts to get him to doubt the word of God; he (Abraham) persisted in his faith
in God's promise. This verse (22) gives the grand conclusion; God’s evaluation
of Abraham's unswerving exercise of faith in his word, which is -----
faith is equivalent to righteousness. Finally, as we conclude the fact
that Abraham's faith was counted for righteousness, we need to consider the
rationale behind the principle that faith in God’s decreesequals
righteousness. The very fact that Abraham believed the promise of his
perfect God is significant as it tells us something about Abraham himself. In
view of what Jesus states in John 3:19-21, sinners within themselves do not seek
God who is light (I John 1:5). So this leads us to conclude: (1). God infused or
deposited in Abraham faith that identified him with
the one who is perfect (light). (2). As one made perfect by the gift of
divine faith (Ephesians 2:8), Abraham had faith in God's word, the
external evidence of his faith righteousness.

Now we progress to Romans 4:23 from the King James
Version, "Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to
him;" And from the Greek Text, "And it was not written on account of him only,
that it was counted to him." The preceding verses have made it crystal clear
that the faith that God gave to Abraham was countedor imputed for
righteousness. The main point in this verse (23) is why did God cause
this statement to be written in the book of Genesis (15:6)? Was it because of
Abraham? Of course not, for Abraham was physically dead when this portion of
God's word was written.

Now God obviously communicated this truth so it was
undoubtedly rendered in writings that were later incorporated into the book of
Genesis, for the sake of those who would read it. Thus the evidence is
clear, the principle of faith righteousness was latent or hidden in the Old
Testament scriptures waiting to be revealed. It (faith righteousness) was buried
under the law, with the exception of a few instances (Isaiah 53:5-6; Jeremiah
31:34; Acts 10:43; Romans 4:6-8).

In today’s dispensation, on this side of the cross, the principle of
(faith-righteousness) has sprung into full bloom. In this age, there is now immediate and complete expiration insteadofatonement
for sins. Notice the word atonement is Old Testament terminology. Its
usage (atonement) is not relevant in the New Testament. Now someone is going to
immediately point to its alleged usage in the King James Version in Romans, but
in the Greek Text that word is kaht•ahtl•lahy•een. Its root word
is kaht•ahl•lahs•so, which is translated "reconcile". Kaht•ahl•lahs•so is a compound verb derived from the Greek
preposition kaht•ahtranslated "down" and the verb ahl•lahs•so,
which means to "restore", thus God reaching down to restore
mankind. So atonement in Romans 5:11 should be reconciliation. Now this
interpretation is supported by the two preceding verses (Romans 5:9-10) wherein
it states, "we shall be saved through Christ from the wrath and that we were reconciledto God through the death of His Son. Thus the meaning of
the context supports the usage of the word "reconciliation" not "atonement".
Atonement is derived from the Hebrew root word ka•phar, which means to
"cover". Now in time it came to mean to expiate, make atonement or to
placate. It conveys the sense of appeasing or pacifying by the appeasing of an
animal representing a sin substituted sacrifice; conveying the sense of purging
or putting off, but its inference is to hide or temporarily cover.
Now as we move back to the contents of Romans 4:23, note again that there is now
immediate and permanent expiration or removing of sins.
Faith identifies the elect of God with Christ, who isour sin
substitute and with Christ who is our righteousness (I Corinthians
1:30; II Corinthians 5:21). The fact that this principle (faith-righteous) was
clearly revealed to the Apostle Paul and eventually Peter is both evident
and documented in their epistles (Romans 3:22,26,28; Galatians 1:12; 2:16,21;
3:7,11; I Peter 1:8-9,19-21; 2:24; 3:18).

Now we continue into Romans 4:24 from the King James
Version, "But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him
that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;" And from the Greek Text, "but also
on account of us to whom it was about to be counted, to those believing on the
one who raised Jesus our Lord out from the dead." Here, this verse specifically
expresses that the statement, "faith was counted to Abraham for righteousness",
was written in the book of Genesis.... thee ee•mahs rendered "on
account of us". Notice, the context makes it clear and evident, that the Greek
pronoun ee•mahs rendered "us", does not refer to the Jews who were
under the Law, who had the book of Genesis as a part of their scripture, but it
refers to "us" who are the elect in this present age of grace. The
fact that this verse begins with the Greek adversative conjunction ahl•lah
rendered, "but" emphasizes that this faith-righteousness statement was not
written for Abraham but rather for us, those who are by faith members
of the Body of Christ. This statement was written for the sake of us to whom
this righteousness "was about to be counted".

Here the Greek word mehI•lee rendered
"about", commonly expresses the idea of "at the point of", on the brink of or
that which is going to happen soon".The Jews looked for the imminent
coming of the Messiah. He was always on the brink of coming to establish His
kingdom in their midst. As Paul writes the truth in this verse, he recognizes
that the Messiah did come; that He offered His Kingdom to Israel and
according to God’s foreordination, it was rejectedand the Church
inserted, which was anunrevealed - secret -spiritual entity.
One should not confuse the Kingdom Dispensation (Gospel of the Kingdom)
with the Church Dispensation (Gospel of the Grace of God, the Mystery). NOTE,
the Church is not the Kingdom. Oh what a tragedy that these two
diverse entities are confused and mixed together as one. All of God’s people
must learn to "rightlydivide thetruth", according to
dispensational arrangements and their respective covenants (II Timothy
2:15). While the "word of truth" is written for all classes of God’s
elect, in all ages and for our learning, it is not addressed to all
in general. Part of it is specifically addressed to Israel, part of it concerns
the Gentiles and part (Gospel of Grace, Mystery-Truth) isspecifically
addressed to the Church. The elect of this dispensation need to
clearly understand that while the whole Bible was written for the
understanding of the Church, it is not all written to and about
the Church.

While most believers who study God's word have little
trouble in separating the basic economy of the Law with its practice of the
sacrifice of animals and its types of shadows, from the basic format of
relating to God in salvation, praise and worship today. What is confusing to
most is the distinct lineof demarcation of the Kingdom
Messianic from the Grace Economy. What must be clearly understood
is the definite identification of the Kingdom message, gospel and its church age
from the Body of Christ grace message, gospel and its church age. The church
(Body of Christ) as defined in this dispensation is not, a continuation
of the Jewish dispensation under another name (grace). So the church plan in
this dispensation operates on the basis of grace. God gives faith
whereby He counts His electrighteous on the basis of the
substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Here as Paul looks back, he reflects
on this age of grace as on the brink of coming, like the Savior associated with
it, even though it did not actually begin until over 1,400 years after
the statement regarding Abraham's faith-righteousness was written in the book of
Genesis.

Those to whom faith is counted, reckoned and imputed for righteousness are "those believing on the one who
raised Jesus our Lord out from the dead". Here the Greek phrase tees peest•ehv•oo•seen
translated "those believing", consist of the definite article and a present
participle and may also be rendered "thoseexercising faith" and
"those trusting and fully persuaded". The present tense implies
that believing is a continuous process since faith is the gift of God,
given to those chosen in Christ (Ephesians 1:4; 3:8) and what God gives, He does
not withdraw (Romans 11:29; Hebrews 11:6). According to this verse
(24), the objectof our faith is God. To have faith
in God is to have faith in what He hassaid in His word
and in what he has and is doing. The Greek preposition ehp•ee
as translated in this context is rendered faith "on" God; very literally
it may be rendered faith uponor on the basis of
God. This should be interpreted to mean that our faith should be fixed on
God in His total essence; He is God almightywho raised Jesus
Christ out from the dead.

In closing out Romans chapter 4, we examine verse 25
first from the King James Version, "Who was delivered for our offences, and was
raised again for our justification." and from the Greek Text, "who was delivered
on account of our trespasses and was raised on account of our justification."
This verse speaks of two things that God effectuated for us through Jesus
Christ. First, He was "delivered on account of our trespasses". The Greek
compound verb pahr•ehth•oth•ee translated, "delivered", comes from
the Greek words pahrah and thee•tho•mee and since it
is in the passive voice, it means that God the father delivered up, gave over
and handed over His Son Jesus, as the supreme sacrifice as manifested by the
cruel death of the cross. Oh what LOVE! (Acts 2:23; Romans 8:32; Galatians 2:20;
Ephesians 5:2). So the question is --"Why did the Father (God)
make this supreme sacrifice of His son Jesus"? The
answer is He was motivated by love and mercy (John
3:16; Ephesians 2:4). He did it thee•ah that is "on account of",
"because of" ------ the reason was our trespasses. It must be clearly understood
that for God to remain just and to simultaneously justify
the elect, who are sinners under the sentence of death, His moral integrity
demanded that a sinless substitute assumeour sin and death
penalty (Romans 3:23-26). "OH THANKS BE TO GOD"! Jesus Christ was willing
to be made sin and death for us that we might become the righteousness of God in
Him (II Corinthians 5:21).

We observe in Romans 4:25, that Jesus Christ "was
raised on account of our justification. Here the passive voice
indicates that the father was the one who eey•ehr•thee
rendered "raised up", and resurrected (Jesus) out from the sphere of dead
men (Acts 3:15; I Corinthians 6:14). Again according to this verse, why did
God raise him? It was thee•ah rendered "on account of", because
of ------ the purpose was for our theek•eh•o•seen rendered
"justification", i.e.,to make us riqht, just and vindicated
before God. Now since the living Christ is the very essence of our
righteousness (I Corinthians 1:30), which is a prerequisite for our
justification, it follows that no resurrection would mean no
identification with the living Christ. Thus no righteousness equals no justification.

We will now move to Part III of our study of the
doctrine of Justification as found in Romans 5:1-2; 6:9,15-21.

Here as we examine the beginning of Romans chapter 5,
let us briefly recapitulate the scope of parts one and two in our study of
justification as found in Romans chapters three and four. Paul’s thesis in the
above discourse is that God has now in this present church age, manifested
righteousness apart from the Mosaic Law. Now the basis for this
righteousnessof God is the faithfulness of Jesus Christ,
which was consummated in eternity and manifested by His death on the Cross.
Remember that the Apostle Paul emphasizes in these first verses that this
righteousness is obtained through faith and not through works. In
one sense it is a righteousness, which has been presently manifested (Romans
3:21), but in another sense it is evident in God’s dealings with Abraham,
David and some of the prophets. As earlier noted, Paul incorporated the evidence
from the Old Testament, which is pertinent in Romans as well as his other
epistles (Galatians 3:6-29). Here and elsewhere Paul has documented these truths
under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit and it is available to us as we
study all of his epistles.

Now before we begin our expositional discourse in
Romans 5:1, let us revert to a portion of a passage found in Romans 4:16
from the King James Version, "Therefore it is of faith, that, it might be by
grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only
which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is
the father of us all." And from the Greek Text, "Because of this it is out of
faith, that it may be according to grace, unto the end to confirm the promise to
every seed, not only to the [seed] out of the law but also to the [seed] out of
the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us," Here it is vividly
expressed and documented, the impossibility of the promise being given
through the Law "because it is out of faith". In the first phrase this verse
(16), the Greek phrase thee•ah too•totranslated "because of
this", may also be rendered "on account of this" or for this reason, the
promise is out of the source of faith. Notice God’s purpose
for doing it this way was in order that it may be according to
grace. As we have documented, even as Law and works are inseparable,
likewise grace and faith are united together. Here grace makes faith
available to believers thereby making it possible for God to count
their faith for righteousness. Now apart from the grace of God,
which has provided Jesus Christ as our sin-substitute and the
faith by which we are identified with Him, it would be impossible for God to
count believers righteous (II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:16; Philippines
3:10).

Observe this verse as it is stating that the Abrahamic
promise was given out of faith according to the principle of grace,
--------- "unto the end to confirm the promise to every seed". Here note the
Greek words vehv•eh•ahn translated "confirm", as it denotes making
the promise firm, certain and sure, and pahn•dee to spehr•mah•tee
rendered "to every seed" or to "every single seed".

So if the promise were out of the Law, it would have
been limited to those under the Law. But since it is out of
grace, it includes every individual whether in or out of the sphere of the
Law. The word seed in this verse refers to every individual to whom
God gives faith to believe in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ unto
righteousness, including the Jews who were under the Law, as well as
those identified with the faith of Abraham (Romans 11:11-12,15,22,24,32). Notice
the intention of Paul’s statement at the end of this verse. Some have
misinterpreted it to classify God’s elect in this dispensation as recipients of
an extension of the Jewish economy. Now according to the flesh, Abraham was
the forefather of the Jews (Romans 4:1). But according to the principles of
grace and faith wherein his faith was counted for righteousness, he
(Abraham) is the "faith-father" of all believers in this age of grace
(Galatians 3:5,29).

We now begin part III with the exegesis of Romans 5:1
from the King James Version, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." And from the Greek Text, "Therefore
having been justified out of faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ," Here after having explained in Romans chapter four how believers
are justified before God, Paul now seeks to enlarge the understanding of those
who have been justified, particularly with reference to their present and future
privileges. The aorist passive participle theek•eh•o•thehn•dehs
translated "having been justified", gives God the total credit for
making us right, just and giving us a clean slate. So the question is, "How did
God do this"? Paul's answer is ehk pees•teh•osrendered 'out of
faith" or" out of the source of faith". Now the emphasis of the preposition ehk rendered "out" as used with the ablative case, is on the
source,origin and fountainhead of justification and that is, "it is
derived from faith. Here it must be clearly understood that
even as ones justification is totally of God; likewise ones
faith which is the source of justification is, also totally of God.

Now as we further exegete this verse (1), Paul states
that as a result of being justified out of faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Here the Greek verb "we have", is in the present tense
and indicative mood and it denotes that that as justified ones, we continuously
enjoy the status of a peaceful relationship with or before
God. The Greek noun ee•ree•neentranslated "peace", literally
means to join and to set at one again, hence face to face. Here it describes the
new face-to-face relationship between the believer and God brought about by the
removal of the curse of the sinful nature. Notice that even the heathen and idol
worshipper fears and dreads interfacing with their god. In this case, there is
implied enmity because their god(s) is dissatisfied with them and requires
appeasement in face-to-face confrontations. In contrast to an idol or man-made
god; as we view the case of the true and living God, who is the God of all
creation, He is at odds with mankind because of his (mankind’s) sinful unholy
and unrighteous nature. It is certainly true that our God is light; and
light cannot fellowship with darkness (John 1:5,9; I John 1:5-7;
Ephesians 5:8-11).

Paul further states in this verse (1) that
justification removes that barrier of strife and enmity. Peace denotes a
state of untroubled, undisturbed well being and thus when contrasted with strife
conveys the thought of God's elect becoming the object of His divine promise
which is brought about by His mercy; granting deliverance and freedom from all
the distresses that are experienced as a result of sin.

Here peace exudes the essence of both mercy and grace
in that it refers to mercy as the antidote for the consequences of sin and grace
as the effectuation of God'sacceptable evaluation of the character of
those who are recipients of His favor. Peace is the spiritual blessing or
that state which is brought about by His grace. This is expressive of the loving
mind of God, wherein the derangements and distresses of life caused by sin are
removed. In Romans 10:15 and Ephesians 6:15, the message of the gospel of
salvation is designated "The Gospel of Peace". In Philippians 4:7,
reference is made to the peace of God (genitive case), that is, the peace which
is owned by God as in many of Paul's greeting in his epistles (Romans
1:7; I Corinthians 1:3; II Corinthians 1:2), reference is made to peace with
God. So we have the peace of God, peace from and in this
verse, peace with God. These references are all describing the new
face-to-face relationship brought about by the reconciliation, (Romans 5:9-11).
So the big question is how does justification by or through faith
bring about this peace or face-to-face relationship with God?

Now the last phrase of Romans 5:1 states that as a
result of being justified out of the source of faith, we have peace with God
"through our Lord Jesus Christ". As stated earlier, the Greek verb
ehkh•o•meentranslated "we have", is in the aorist tense and indicative
mood, and thus makes a statement that as justified ones, we continuously enjoy a
peaceful relationship with or before God. The inference of the perpetuality of
this face-to-face relationship rests on the premise of the Greek preposition thee•ahrendered "by or through", as used with the genitive case and
affirms that Jesus Christ is the agent who has acquired this peace for
us. His faithfulness, the cross being its manifested pinnacle was an absolute
and only requisite for reconciliation and peace between God and His elect
(Romans 3:22; Ephesians 2:14-17). Now we must keep in mind that sinners do not
have the capacity to take the initiative in seeking peace with God (Romans 3:17)
but contrariwise, God sovereignly takes the initiative in reconciling believers
to Himself. Now those who preach and teach conditional salvation and conditional
justification and conditional security in Christ do so in the vein of turning
the spotlight away from the deeds of Jesus and His efficacious-righteous work
of propitiation; to the unrighteous dead works of men that are ministered on
the basis of the Mosaic Law through ordinances, rituals, rites and the
traditional manifestation of so-called self-righteous living.

It is impossible to either obtain or retain
the peaceful face-to-face relationship with God on the basis of one’s own
merit. The only methodology available to absolutely guarantee anyone’s
justification is by grace through Christ’s faithfulness (Ephesians 2:8).
Note faith is a gift from God as it is cannot originate out of mankind. None can
stand face-to-face before a righteous and Holy God based on one’s dead
unrighteous works. The only way to insure one’s peaceful, face-to-face
relationship with God is through justification by or through faith, which God
has deposited in such one, to believe and identify with the blood that Jesus
shed for His elect as manifested on the cross (Romans 6:3-14). If one depends
upon Jesus and Jesus alone for ones salvation, justification and peace with God
(face-to-face) it will be everlasting and uninterrupted today, tomorrow and
throughout all eternity (Romans 8:31-39).

Now we turn our attention to Romans 5:2 from the King
James Version "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we
stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." And from the Greek Text,
"through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand,
and we boast in the hope of the glory of God." Now as we exegete this verse, we
note the declaration in Romans 5:1, that Christ is the agent through whom we
have peace (face-to-face) with God. Likewise, this verse states that Christ is
the agent through whom we have access into this grace in which we
stand. Here the Greek compound word pros•ahg•oy•eentranslated
"access", is derived from pros and ahg•o and
basically means "to lead to", hence to gain access and admission. The verb
associated with this verse is in the perfect tense which denotes that subsequent
to the manifestation of the sacrifice on the cross, we have had and continue to
have the right to access and admission, and to enter into 'this grace in which
we stand". The two cases of faith in verses one and two of Romans chapter 5
entail the locative case denoting faith to be the source of justification. In
Romans 5:2 we have the instrumental case, which denotes faith as the means of
our justification.

Now as we continue the exegesis of this verse, we
examine the phrase, "this grace in which we stand". Here we note three other
passages where Paul uses the Greek word kahr•eentranslated
"grace". First, in Romans 3:24, Paul states that "We are freely justified by His
grace." Second, in Romans 4:4, grace is identified as a gift; not something
earned. Thirdly, in Romans 4:16, Paul states that grace provides faith as a free
gift to those who are chosen in Christ. These passages suggest that to stand in
grace is to base our relationship to God on His free gift of
faith-righteousness. Now the opposite of this would be to stand in works,
i.e., to base our salvation on the works of the Law. Here the Greek verb
ehs•tee•kah•mehntranslated "we stand", is in the perfect tense, which
denotes the grace in which we have begun and continue to stand. The grammatical
construction of this phrase (we stand) leaves no room for one to be separated
from the grace, faith and righteousness which God has provided (Romans 8:35-39;
Galatians 5:4).

As we will exegete the final phrase of verse 2, we do
so on the premise that we stand solely on the grace of God; thus "we
boast in the hope of the glory of God'. Here the Greek verb kahf•khom•eh•thah
translated "we boast", implies that Paul was continually"exulting,
lauding and rejoicing ehp rendered "in or on",the basis ofthe hope oftheglory of God or "we boast or rejoice on
the basisof the hope of the glory which belongs to God'. As we
look to the essence of our future, we see the brightness of our hope in being
glorified together with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:30). Now this hope of being
glorified with Christ was divinely revealed to the Apostle Paul (Galatians 1:12;
I Corinthians 15:51-54). Here the Greek phrase thox•ees ton Theh•oo
rendered the "Glory of God", implies that God is the one who gives us glorified
bodies which conform to the glorified body of Christ (who is head of the
Church), fully suited for God's will and purpose (Romans 8:28; Philippians
3:21). Therefore, we receive grace through faith, as God is the source of both
(Ephesians 2:8). Now because of this we rejoice and boast in the hope of being
glorified in Christ, read (II Thessalonians 1:10-12).

Now we move to Romans 5:6 from the King James Version,
"for when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly." And from the Greek text, "For while we were infirm, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly." As we move into a new vein of the text in chapter 5, we
note that verses 6-11 contain a closely-knit context with a single argument, so
we will limit our context to the salient parts, basically stated in verses 6-9,
seeing that we have already focused on the base points of verses 10 and 11
elsewhere in our studies. In verse 6 we reflect back to a time when we were eht•ee ahs•thehn•on rendered "yet infirm" or weak and spiritually
sick. It was a time when we were ungodly, egocentric sinners and it was
particularly for this that Christ died for the ahs•ehv•on
translated "ungodly", impious and wicked. The most important thing we need to
acknowledge in this verse is our unattractive sinful plight and in spite of
this, Christ died eep•ehr rendered "for", "on our behalf" or "in
our stead".

Now we examine Romans 5:7 from the King James Version,
"For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man
some would even dare to die." And from the Greek Text, "For scarcely for a
righteous man will one dare to die: for on behalf of a good man perhaps one
might even dare to die;" This verse depicts the illustration of God’s great love
for us by comparing the severity of his sacrifice with the unworthiness of its
benefactors. In contrast to the fact that Christ died "on behalf of" or in the
stead of the believer, the Apostle Paul states there is no precedent for such a
sacrifice, for it would be hard to find one who would be willing to die for a
good man. Paul does not describe what possible difference there is between the
"righteousness and goodness" of men. On the precise reference of this there can
be stated a diversity of opinions. In this regard, everything depends on the
sense in which the words "righteous and good" can be viewed. The basic
conveyance is, "for scarcely is an instance to be found among men of one dying
even for those of good character," as men’s love for mankind, even in the rarest
cases do not stretch to that extent. So the most important thing pointed out in
this verse is that there is noprecedent among men for what Jesus
did and that is dying for some totally depraved sinners.

We continue the unfolding progression of this thought
in Romans chapter 5:8 from the King James Version, "But God commendeth His love
towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." And from
the Greek Text, "but God commended His own love unto us, that while we were yet
sinners Christ died on behalf of us." Here the statement is given that God seen•ees•tee•seen translated "commended", or "placed with" and
extended His own love unto us at a time when we were still
sinners. It is more striking than this that the determination of God love was
fixed and assigned in eternity regardless of the fact that its recipients were
destined to be sinners in time. The extension of God's eh•ahf•too
rendered "own" personal love unto us is seen in the fact that Christ died on
behalf of us. This is corroborated in I John 3:1 as he writes (in the King James
Version), "Oh what manner, (what sort, what type) of love the Father hath
bestowed on us". In other words, the death of Christ on Calvary for no good
worthless sinners is the expressionof God's own unheard of love,
the death of His beloved Son, Jesus (Matthew 3:17; John 3:16; I John 4:9-10).
Now it is important to observe in this verse that the death of Jesus Christ is
in essence the extension of God's perfect love unto us,while we
were yet (to be) rebellious sinners. Of
course, there is no precedent for such love in the universe!

We now turn to Romans 5:9 from the King James Version,
"Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through Him." And from the Greek Text, "Much more then, having been justified
now by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him." Now the
cogitative flow is that if God commended His own love unto some in the
face of them being sinners, then much more He will save those whom He has
justified from the coming wrath. Here the Greek phrase pol•lo oon mahl•lon
translated "much more then," may also be rendered "much more therefore" or "to a
far greater extent," he will save us justified ones from the wrath. So
since God lavished His love upon us as sinners, we can to a far greater extent
expect Him to save us justified ones from tees or•yeesrendered
the "wrath," i.e., the coming wrath of God (Romans 2:5; Ephesians 5:6; I
Thessalonians 1:10). Here we must keep in mind that we have two distinct groups,
progressively speaking in this context: namely, those designated sinners who are
designees of His love and those who have been justified. Since God has treated
certain sinners so good by loving them to the extent of sacrificing His Son for
them, He can be logically expected to treat those whom He has justified, even
better. In fact the least of what He has done is to save us from the
coming wrath. Even as our justification is made possible by means of the
blood of Christ, likewise our being saved from the coming wrath is through
the personal agency of Christ. Thus our secured place in Him is solidified
through the enactment of His eternal decree of justification.

We now move to the latter context of Romans chapter 5
as we focus on verse 15 from the King James Version, "But not as the offence, so
also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more
the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath
abounded to many." And from the Greek Text, "But not as the trespass, thus also
is the free gift; for if by the trespass of the one many died, much more the
grace of God and the gift by grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded unto the
many." Here as we examine the statement "But not as the trespass, thus also is
the free gift", this verse begins with the strong adversative Greek conjunctionahl•lahrendered 'but", emphasizing the contrast between the
trespass of Adam and the free gift of Jesus Christ. In order to
aid in fullyunderstanding the significance of the adverb oo•tos
rendered "thus" in this statement; an expanded version translation is offered.
So restated it would read, "But not like as or accordingas the trespass,
oo•tos or "thus" in the same way or in like manner; is the free
gift". Now the thought is that there is definite similarity, likeness and
identity between the trespass and the free gift. However the negative adverb ookh translated "not", puts these two similar phrases in a reverse or
opposite relation, i.e., they are on the one hand alike, but on the other hand,
they convey opposite meanings. Thus the trespass and free gift are
effective in accomplishing there opposite functions, but the free gift is more
effective in its operation.

This is better illustrated as we move to the second
part of verse 15. Here Paul posits a condition: "For if by the trespass of the
one many died" then it follows that "much more the grace of God and the gift of
the one man Jesus Christ (has) abounded unto the many". In view of the preceding
context we must grant that by the trespass of Adam many died, in fact all died.

Therefore as night follows day, we must also grant that
much more God's grace, even the gift of the one man Jesus Christ has eh•pehr•ees•sehv•sehn
rendered "abounded" or "been over and above" and has been richly furnished unto
the many. This statement implies that the redemptive work of Christ is unlimited
as it has the potential for saving all sinners. The undeniable arguments of this
verse is that even as the result of Adam's trespass spread to all men likewise,
the result of Christ's substitutionary death possesses the potency to spreads to
all men (I Timothy 2:4; II Peter 3:9) except it moves according to the
determination of God’s eternal decree.

We now move to Romans 5:16 from the King James Version,
"And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by
one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification."
And from the Greek Text, "And the gift is not as through one who had sinned; for
the judgment was out of one unto condemnation, but the free gift is out of many
trespasses unto justification." In this verse we observe the statement "The gift
is not as though one who had sinned"; as it denotes that the gift is the
oppositeof what came through the agency of the one who sinned, the
opposite of Adam's trespass. Since the Greek particle mehn and theh are used in the sequel in what follows in this verse, their
explanations will incorporate their grammatical significance. Here Paul states
that "on the one hand, the judgment was out of the source of one
trespass unto the end of condemnation but on the other hand, the free gift is
out of the source of manytrespasses. In light of the preceding
and following context, this statement would be totally unexpected at first
glance. But on closer examination it is apparent that it means that the many
trespasses elicitedand evokedthe free gift that is
unto Justification. So according to this interpretation the desperate plights of
elect sinners evokedGod's mercyto provide the giftof the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which was an act of
righteousness unto the end of justification (Romans 5:6,8,10).

Now we turn to Romans 5:17 from the King James Version,
"For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ." And from the Greek Text, "For if the trespass of the one death
reigned through the one, much more those receiving the abundance of grace and
the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ."
Here this verse reverts to the thought of Romans 5:14, adding that death reigned
through the onenamely Adam. Now in contrast to this, those who
have received God's abundant graceand the giftof
righteousness shall reign in the sphere of life through the one
namely Jesus Christ. Note that in this verse the contrast is between death
reigningthrough Adam on account of that which he did, and those who
are righteous reigningthroughChrist on account of His
sacrifice. Now beyond this contrast it is significant to note
that those who have been made righteous by the grace of God reign
ehn zo•eerendered "in life" or "in the sphere of divine life"
(John 6:57).

And now we turn to Romans 5:18 from the King James
Version, "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all
men unto justification of life." Here because some have utilized their
translation of this verse to espouse the doctrine of "unlimited redemption of
all men", we herein convey the actual Greek rendering, i.e., Ahr•ah oon os
thee eh•nos pahr•ahp•to•mah•tos ees pahn•dahs ahnth•ro•poos ees kaht•ahk•ree•mah
oo•tos keh thee eh•nos theek•eh•o•mah•tos ees pahn•dahs ahnth•ro•poos ees theek•eh•o•seen
zo•ees. This is literally translated, "Then therefore as through one
trespass unto all men unto condemnation, thus also through one act of
righteousness unto all men unto justification of life." Here we observe an
ellipsis or elliptical construction as denoted by the absence of verbs with
their corresponding tenses, thus there is no apparatus to define the kind of
action that is implied (present, aorist, future, etc.). The same is true
concerning the moods, thus there is no defining information referencing the
characteristics of the implied actions. In this sense, this verse conveys the
fact that all it took to bring the entire human race under condemnation was
the one trespass, i.e., one act of disobedience on the part of Adam.
Likewise all that it took to bring justification and divine life to all men was
the one act of obedience on the part of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course,
this one act of obedience was His submission to the ignoble death as
manifested on the cross, even the sacrifice in eternity, which was His once and
for all substitutionary death. Also it should be noted that the fact of
this oneact ofobedience, i.e., Jesus’
death, is unto all men unlimited in its power. In effect, the power of the
blood of Jesus Christ is efficacious enough to save the entire human race
(Hebrews 2:9); but His power to save is directed by His willto
save those whom He has called and elected in Him before creation
(Ephesians 1:4). This one act of righteousness resulted in
theek•eho•seen zo•eestranslated "justification of life", i.e.,
justification that belongs to life. Now understand this, the two are
inseparable, hence justified believers are joined together with Christ in
resurrection life (Romans 4:25). Thus it is imperative for one to
understand the basic implication of this free act of righteousness
performed on behalf of those who are justified, in that the blood of
Jesus completely wiped out the offense and trespass of Adam against God’s
elect.

Now we turn to Romans 5:19 from the King James Version,
"For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of
one shall many be made righteous." And from the Greek Text, "For even as through
the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, likewise also through the
obedience of one many will be made righteous." Here the Greek word pahr•ahk•o•ees
translated "disobedience", is derived from the Greek preposition pahr•ah
prefixed to the verb ahk•o•oo and literally means to "hear
beside", thus as used in this context it means, "not to listen" or "not to pay
attention to what is said". The thought is that what God saidabout not
eating of the tree of life, Adam let go by the side or he allowed it to slide
by. In this sense, his disobedience began with his failure to carefully listen
to God’s word given to him. When God confronted the first man Adam with the
supreme test, which involved pleasing God verses the desires of his flesh, he
heard askance or he did not take God’s message seriously and performed the very
first act of man’s disobedience.

So as a result of Adam’s disobedience "many were made
sinner". Here the Greek phrase ee pol•leetranslated "many", may
equally be translated "the many". Now as used in this verse and
verified in all of Paul’s epistles, this means the masses and multitude were
"made sinners". Here the Greek verb kahth•ehs•tah•thee•sahn
translated "were made"; comes from combining the Greek preposition kaht•ahand the verb ees•tee•mee,which literally means "to place
down, to establish and to fix" all men as sinners (Romans 3:9-12,23).

Even as Adam’s disobedience established many as
"ahm•ahr•to•lee"rendered "sinners", "misses of the mark" or even
depraved ones, ---oo•tos, rendered "likewise", in the same manner
and way Jesus Christ’s obedience will make many righteous. Here the
contrast is between Adam’s disobedience as against Christ’s obedience
and many being made sinners over against many who are made righteous. So
Adam and Christ are looked at as the heads of two distinct groups, namely
those who are sinners and those(the elect) who are to be made
righteous. In the case of Adam, the aorist tense and passive voice indicates
that subsequent to act of disobedience God fixed his progeny as sinners. But in
the case of Jesus Christ, the future tense and passive voice indicate that God
will establish many, (the elect) as righteous. The many that are identified with
Adam represent all his flesh and blood progeny, i.e., the entire human
race, whereas the many who will be associated with Christ are
those(the elect) who are caused to believe in Him (Romans 1:16;
3:22; 4:3). Here for comparative reasons, Paul uses the same phrases ee
pol•lee rendered "the many", but the context demands that the many
with Adam are all men while the many withChrist are all believers
(God’s elect).

Now as we further exegete Romans 5:19 we examine the
statement, "through the obedience of one many will be made righteous". Here the
Greek word eep•ahk•o•eestranslated "obedience", is derived from
the Greek preposition eep•o prefixed to the verb ahk•o•oo
and literally means to "hear under", i.e., to "be under what is heard" and "to
be submissive and obedient to it" (Hebrews 5:8). Jesus Christ’s great single
act of obedience was the manifestation of His submission to death on
the cross (Philippians 2:8). This act of obedience on His part made it possible
for God to maintain His just position and at the same time justify
and make those who are caused to believe (the elect) righteous. All who are
legalistically or denominationally inclined to practice self-righteousness or
self sufficiently must understand that ones righteous positionbefore God does not,depend upon ones obedience to God nor on
what one has done nor what one can do. Contrariwise it depends
upon Jesus Christ and His obedience unto death as our sin-substitute.
When we are identified with Him through baptism into His death (His righteous
act of obedience), i.e., through faith, then His righteousness
becomes our righteousness (Romans 6:3-7; I Corinthians 1:30; II
Corinthians 5:2). When we were caused to believe in Him (Jesus), God made, fixed
and established us as righteous ones. Thus we must understand that "we are saved
by (His) grace through (His) faithfulness and that
not of ourselves, it (our salvation) is the free gift
of Godnot of works, lest any of mankind should dare
to boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Now we move to Romans 5:20 from the King James Version,
"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound:" And from the Greek Text, "And the law
came in beside that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace
superabounded." This is a verse that must be understood in its correct context,
less one may construe its meaning to lessen the impact of the immoral nature of
sin and God’s extreme intolerance of it. In Romans 5:13, Paul states that sin
was in the world prior to the Mosaic Law, but that it was not imputed
during that time. In this verse, he states the reason God gave the law, i.e., it
"came in beside that the trespass might abound". Note the triple compound verb
pahr•ees•eel•thehn, which conveys the fact that the law "came in
beside." This phrase is derived from the Greek prepositions pahr•ahand ees prefixed to the verb ehr•khom•ehand
literally means that the law "came in beside", the sin which was in the world or
it "occupied" a place beside sin and in this contiguous relation to sin, the law
amplified sin as sin (Romans 4:7-9,13). So the specific purpose
for which God gave the law was inorder that the trespasspleh•on•ah•see
rendered "might abound" or might reveal the magnitude of the
consequences of Adam’s pahr•ahp•to•mah rendered "trespass",
transgression and defection that is inherent in the nature of his
progeny (Romans 5:14; I Corinthians 15:22).

Here in this context the Greek words pahr•ahp•to•mah
and ahm•ahr•tee•ahrendered "trespass and "sin" respectively; are
used to describe the disobedience which the law made obvious. Now
the two are not necessarily used synonymously, but give a more comprehensive
picture of the wrongdoing, which the law revealed, i.e., it was both a "falling
beside" and "missing the mark" of God’s standard. So where the law served its
purpose of making sin eh•pleh•on•ah•sehnrendered "abound", or of
impressing its exceeding greatness on men’s consciences; thus Paul states that
grace "super abounded". Here the Greek verb eep•ehr•eh•pehr•ees•sehv•sehn
translated "super-abounded", is derived from the Greek preposition eep•her prefixed to the verb pehr•ees•sehv•o and
literally means to "abound out beyond", "over and above" or "exceedingly". So
the essence of this verse is, regardless of the excessiveness and greatness of
sin uncovered by the law, the grace of God, the free gift, His love, His mercy,
Hisperfect sacrifice, far exceeded and overpowered it (I Timothy
1:14; John 1:17).

And now we move to the last verse in Romans chapter 5
verse 21 from the King James Version, "That as sin has reigned unto death, even
so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our
Lord." And from the Greek Text, "That even as sin reigned in death, likewise
also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord." In Romans 5:14 and17, Paul depicts death as reigning.
In this verse he drops back to the cause of death, sin, as that
which had reigned. Here the use of the aorist tense suggests that Paul is
referring to the sin revealed by the Law, but not necessarily limited to it, but
sin which eh•vahs•eel•ehv•seen rendered "reigned", "ruled" and
"governed" in the sphere of death. So in reality, failure to keep the Law
developed a consciousness of sin, the consequences of which is death. Hence the
sinner was caught in the jaws of death. But even as sin reigned in death,
Paul’s desire in this context is that likewise "grace" might reign through
righteousness unto eternal life.

Now the reign of sin in death was normal during the
1,400 years the Law was in effect, but in contrast grace should now reign unto
the end of eternal life. Note, that this reign of grace is
thee•ah theek•eh•os•ee•nees rendered "through righteousness" or "through
the agency of righteousness", and the end or result of this righteousness is
eternal life. So the sequential order is as follows:

God’s grace is manifested in
Jesus Christ

He is the embodiment of
righteousness

Because we are righteous in Him,
we have eternal life.

Now even as sin equals death, likewise
righteousness equals life (Romans 6:23). Originally God created man in His
own image and likeness (genesis 1:26-27), as one who would share in His
righteousness and life, but man sinned and lost the right to life.
Now on the basis of His grace, God has made it possible
for His elect to be restored to righteousness and life
thee•ah Ee•ee•soo khrees•too rendered "through Jesus Christ", i.e.,
through the agency of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 1:13; II
Corinthians 5:21). Accordingly this righteousness and life is transmitted to the elect through their faith-relation to the living
Christ (John 6:57; Romans 3:22; I John 5:11-12).

As we begin Part IV in the second chapter of Galatians,
we do so in light of many truths that have been unveiled in our study of Parts 1
thru 3 of our subject matter Justification. It has been distinctly pointed out
in the above discoursing concerning those who have been baptized into Christ,
i.e., those whom have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27), that there is no
difference between Jews and Gentiles. Note this is the main reason we
must divide the scriptures dispensationally. Now in certain past and
future dispensations or economies (Promise, Law, and Kingdom), the Jews have a
definite advantage over the Gentiles but in the economy of grace there is no
difference. Ones race, gender nor status in life has any bearing on ones
position in the Body of Christ (Galatians 3:28). Note the greatest
division in the Body of Christ today is along denominational lines. There are
those, who because of the influence of their legalistically doctrines and
dogmas; have declared their particular group to be the only
people saved. In other words they declare their creed to be the only
solution to justification before God. This attitudinal thinking was endowed in
the minds of certain Jewish believers who preached to the Church at Antioch as
depicted in Acts chapter 15. Here the account from the King James Version in
verse one through 19 is as thus: 1 "And certain men which came down from
Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner
of Moses, ye cannot be saved. 2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no
small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and
Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles
and elders about this question. 3 And being brought on their way by the
church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the
Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. 4 And when
they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the
apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed,
saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the
law of Moses. 6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider
of this matter. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up,
and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made
choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the
gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them
witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no
difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now
therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which
neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that
through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and
Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wroughtamong the
Gentiles by them. 13 And after they had held their peace, James answered,
saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 14 Simeon hath declared how
God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his
name. 15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of
David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I
will set it up: 17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and
all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all
these things.

18 Known unto Godare all his works from the beginning of the world. 19 Wherefore my
sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned
to God:" Now we also focus on verse 20 through 27. 20 "But that we write
unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and
from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses of old time hath in
every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.
22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to
send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas;
namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: 23
And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders
and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in
Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: 24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that
certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your
souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such
commandment: 25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord,
to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 Men
that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27
We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things
by mouth."

Paul later writes to the church at Galatia and recounts
the documentation of the events of the conference in Jerusalem. Thus it was
indeed decreed by all in authority and sanctioned by the Holy Spirit that
salvation was available to the Gentiles through that gospel which had been
delivered unto Paul (Galatians 2:8-9). Afterwards Paul confronts Peter
because of his reluctance to accept the fellowship of the Gentiles in the
presence of other Jewish believers. The major issue at hand was whether
uncircumcised Gentiles, who were not committed to keeping the Law; were
acceptable in the fellowship of the Church. These same types of issues,
doctrines and dogmas exist in the Church today mainly through denominations. If
we notice, each group has its own set of rules and guidelines as to how
salvation is obtained or how the sinner’s sins are eradicated.

Some groups carry the banner of washings through
baptism even though there are many different versions of the means and method of
baptism. Some groups exclude all from salvation that do not speak in a foreign
language or "in tongues". Some groups foist that a self-generated righteousness
based upon one’s own merit must be displayed before God in order to be
justified. All these types of persuasions and notions can be traced back to the
attitudes of those self-righteous Jews in the early church

wherein men sought to magnify
themselves through their own dead works, rather than magnify God through the
righteous efficacious work performed by Jesus Christ. As we have pointed out and
will continue to point out, ---the traditional dead works of doctrines and
rituals and ceremonies, cannot satisfy the demands of justice from a just and
holy God. Righteousness can only be obtained through faith in the finished work
that Jesus Christ blood accomplished as manifested upon the Cross. Again, as it
is documented in Romans 5:1, justification can only be obtained through faith,
which is the free gift of God, and our access to God is exclusively through the
merit of Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness.

Here we focus on Galatians 2:15 from the King James
Version, "We who are Jews by nature and not sinner of the Gentiles." Now from
the Greek Text, "We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from the Gentiles." The
thought in this verse is whether a person is by nature a Jew or a Gentile, as it
relates to sin there is no difference, for no flesh is justified by the
works of the Law. In fact a Jew who doesn’t recognize that he is a sinner, is
further away from God that a Gentile who recognizes his sin. However, to
recognize one’s sin is only a first step, and unless one is caused to sense a
need to be saved from ones sin and trusts in Jesus Christ the Savior for
salvation, one is lost and without hope. In this day and age of grace there is
no room for either racial or religious preference. In this case Jews have no
advantage over Gentiles (Romans 1:16). Here the reference to the Jew
pro•tonrendered "first", pertained to the period of time before Israel
was set-aside as a nation and was only true through the period prior to the
revelation of the Mystery. There is no difference chiefly because regardless of
the special advantages of Judaism, including the possession of the Law, there is
no justification aside from the merits of Jesus Christ.

Now we move to Galatians 2:16, from the King James
Version, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by
the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might
be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the
works of the law shall no flesh be justified."Now from the Greek Text,
"knowing that a man is not justified out of works of the Law except through the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ, that we might be justified out of the faithfulness
of Christ and not out of the works of the law, because out of the works of the
law no flesh shall be justified." In essence both Paul and Peter
clearly, knew that the works of the Law could not justify a man (Acts
15:9,11). The inability of the Law to justify was due to the weakness of man’s
flesh (Romans 8:3). The only way a man can be justified is through the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 3:12).

The Greek word pees•teh•os rendered
"faithfulness", is the genitive of pees•tees and it may be
translated either faith or faithfulness, depending upon its use in the context.
This is most logical since the basic meaning of pees·
tees that is, "faith" is really inseparable from "faithfulness".
In essence, the one who has "faith" would be "faithful". For a believer to say
that he has faith and then fail to faithfully carry out what is entailed in
"faith" testifies that his confession of faith is lacking in its maturity. Thus
we see that "faith", as it is used in this context as well as others implies
faithfulness (Acts 17:31; Romans 3:3; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 3:12; Colossians
2:12; I Timothy 4:12; 6:11; II Timothy 2:22; 3:10,15; Titus 2:10; Philemon 5).
So this passage is really stating that the only way for a man to be justified is
thee•ah rendered "through" the agency of the faithfulness of Jesus
Christ. The basis for righteousness under the Mosaic Law was to have perfectly
kept the Law (Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12) whereas the basis for righteousness
in this Church age is the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. He is the
embodiment of the righteousness of God and the one who is the end of the Law
unto righteousness to every one believing (Romans 10:3-4).

Jesus Christ miraculously became incarnate in human
flesh; He lived a sinless and perfect life before God His Father
and it should be noted that He is the only one of which this testimony can
truthfully be given (Hebrews 2:14; 4:15). Our Lord was obedient unto death as
manifested on the Cross (Philippians 2:8). This is what is involved in the
faithfulness of Christ!

So in contrast to the righteousness based upon keeping
the Law, which no man ever kept, our righteousness is based on the
perfect faithfulness of Christ summed up in His substitutionary death! Note His
faithfulness unto death is in essence the righteousness of God,
and this righteousness becomes our righteousness through
identification and personal faith in Him (Philippians 3:9).

Paul further states that we have believed in Christ
Jesus in order that we might be justified out of the source of the
faithfulness of Christ instead of out of the works of the Law. The previous
statement emphasized the fact that the faithfulness of Christ is the agency
through which justification is obtained; this statement emphasizes the fact that
the faithfulness of Christ is the source of justification. Thus these are two
different Greek constructions emphasizing the same thing, namely that the
faithfulness of Christ is the basis for our justification. In this verse,
the Apostle Paul states that we eh•peest•ehv•sah•mehn rendered
"believed", (aorist tense) that we might be justified. We have believed for the
purpose of being justified on the basis of Christ’s faithfulness instead of on
the basis of Law- works. If we were depending upon the works of the Law it would
have been futile, because no person has ever been justified by the works of the
Law (Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:11).

Now to translate and interpret this passage in any
other manner, than that which we have done; is to produce redundancies between
the Greek noun pees•teh•os rendered "faithful" and the Greek verb
eh•peest•ehv•sah•mehn rendered "believed" (Romans 3:21-22;
Philippians 3:9). We should never stop thanking God for the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who became our substitute for sin
that those who receive the gift of faith will believe in Him and as a result on
that belief; be justified from all sin!

Now we move to Galatians 2:17 from the King James
Version, "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are
found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid".And
now from the Greek Text, "And if while seeking to be justified in Christ, we
ourselves also were found to be sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin?
Definitely not!" Now again, Paul’s writings in these verses are in the context
of refuting Peter’s hypocritical actions in the Church at Antioch. In view of
Peter’s inconsistent actions, Paul endeavors to stimulate all those inclined to
exhibit such conduct, to think. The principle thought here is that if one
professes to be justified in Christ yet ones actions of "work-righteousness"
reveal that he still considers himself a sinner or one who has not received
righteousness by "faith"; does this mean that such believes Christ to be the
minister of sin rather than the minister of justification? Paul immediate answer
to this question is in the form of the Greek grammatical construction mee
yehn•ee•to that can be rendered "let it never be"! Absolutely not! Or
certainly not!!! In other words Paul is attempting to provoke Peter and all
others like him to recognize what such actions would portray.

The fact is that those who again subjected themselves
to keeping the Law (for justification) after having professed trust in Christ
for justification; thus indicate that they believe the penalty of sin to be
continually in their lives. Furthermore those who are supposed to be justified
in Christ who still consider themselves to be condemned as sinners; must come to
terms with the question of what could possibly be the source of sin that is
deemed to be removed by the blood of Jesus Christ? Christ the one who is the
source of justification could not possibly be associated with those who revert
to keeping the Law, thereby showing themselves to be sinners seeking
justification through their works.

Now we move to Galatians 2:18 from the King James
Version, "For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a
transgressor".Now from the Greek Text, "For if I again build the
things which I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor."Notice the
strong Greek wordkaht•ehl•ees•ahrendered "destroyed", as used in
this verse. Paul’s reference is to the Mosaic Law as to that which he had torn
down and thrown out of his life in the past. It no longer had any
control over his thinking and actions. So his thought is, if after having
broken with the Law, Paul began doing the same thing as Peter and the
others, such as keeping the Law, i.e., building again that which
he had torn down; he would be seen•ees•tahn•o translated "proving"
or "showing" or "identifying", himself as a transgressor. Now the crux of this
verse is that those seeking to keep the Law for righteousness sake; reveal a
consciousness of sin and an inadequate understanding of the fact that the
believer is complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10). Now when one considers who
Paul is addressing in this context, that is the Antiochan Jews in general
and more specifically the Law-keeping Jews who had come from James; he is
certainly taking a bold and fearless stand for grace apart from the Law!
Here Paul expresses this message in no uncertain terms, that one should
absolutely cease any inconsistent mingling of the Mosaic Law with justification,
which is through (or by) the righteousness of the work of Christ.

Now we move to Galatians 2:19 from the King James
Version,"For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live
unto God". And now from the Greek Text, "For I through the Law died to the Law,
that I might live to God."Paul’s argument in this verse is that he was
no longer under the Law. So the righteousness that is of the Law depended
upon a perfect keeping of the Law (Romans 10:5). Since no one was
able to perfectlykeep the Law, due to the weakness of the
flesh (Romans 8:3), it ultimately became a revealer of sin rather
than a giver of life.

An illustration of this point is demonstrated in Romans
7:7-14 from the King James Version, "7 What shall we say then? is the law
sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known
lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking
occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For
without the law sin was dead. 9 For I was alive without the law once: but
when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10 And the
commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. 11 For
sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that
it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the
commandment might become exceeding sinful. 14 For we know that the law is
spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin

."

And now the translations from the Greek Text,
" 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Let it never be; but I had
not known sin except through the law, for I had not known coveting except the
law said, you shall not covet. 8. but sin having taken occasion through
the commandment produced in me every kind of coveting; for apart from the law
sin is dead. 9. And I was living apart from the law once; but the
commandment having come sin revived, and I died; 10. and the commandment
which was unto life, this was found to be unto death; 11. for sin having
taken occasion through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
12. So that the Law is indeed holy, and the commandment is holy and right
and good. 13.Therefore did that which is good become death to me? Let it
never be; but sin that it might be manifest to be sin, through that which is
good it produced death to me; that sin through the commandment might be
exceedingly sinful. 14. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am
carnal, having been sold under sin." Note the contents of this passage
clearly states that the Law, which is good within itself, revealed how
exceedingly sinful sin is. Now when one considers that in all of Paul’s
teachings he consistently states that the Law has no relevance for
members of the Body of Christ; verse 7 begins with the question "What shall we
say then? or "What therefore shall we say? Thus the question is posed "is
the Law sin? In other words, is the Law in itself and in its
essence sin? Here Paul’s emphatic answer is the Greek grammatical
construction mee yehn•ee•to which can be expressed "let it never
be" or "may it never be’ or "absolutely not" or as recorded in the King James
Version, "God forbid!"

Notice, having refuted the idea that the Law is
sin; Paul proceeds to point out in this verse that it has been and
still is a revealer of sin. Here he states, "I had not known sin
except through the Law". What Paul means is that apart from the Law that
is, without its value standard of right and wrong, no one could determine
what was and what wasn’t sin before God. Now the Law specified
what a person shall do and what he shall not do and to act
contrary to these stipulations was and is sin. The Greek noun ahm•ahr•tee•ah translated "sin", in this verse basically means to
miss the mark, to deviate and trespass from the standards set forth in
the Law. Here the apostle Paul illustrates how the Law revealed
sin; for he states "for I had not known coveting except the Law said, "you shall
not covet". The Greek word ehp•ee•thee•mee•ahn rendered
"coveting", basically it infers to have an earnest desire, craving, and longing
for something. But when that strong desire or craving is for that
which is evil; it is commonly translated lust or lusting.

In Romans 7:8, we focus on the statement "for apart
from the Law, sin is dead". Here again the Greek noun ahm•ahr•tee•ah
rendered "sin" or "to miss the mark" or to be error" or to be "involved" in
wrong doing; implies that there is a mark to be hit and in this verse that
mark is the Law, the divinestandard for those who were
under the Law. So the declaration is made that sin is nehk•rah
rendered "dead", thus "not counted", "not reckoned" and "not imputed" (Romans
5:13) apart from the divine standard embodied in the law. Notice
in Romans 7:10, the word commandment and its relationship to the word
Law. In the 7th chapter of Romans, observe that Paul uses the
Greek word nom•os rendered "Law", 23 times and the Greek word ehn•tol•ee rendered "commandments", seven times. Note when referring
to the Mosaic Law, the word nom•os or "Law" is always used
in the singular, i.e., the Law. When the Greek word ehn•tol•ee
is used in context in conjunction with the Mosaic Law, it is
commonly used in the plural, i.e., many commandments that make up the Law
(Romans 13:8-9; I Corinthians 7:19; Ephesians 2:15; Hebrews 9:19).

Here in Romans chapter seven, ehn•tol•ee
that is "commandment" is consistently used in the singular,
apparently with reference to specific commandments, but its overall
meaning is synonymous with the word nom•os or Law.

So in verse 10 of Romans chapter 7, Paul’s reference to
"the commandment which was unto life", undoubtedly points back to that which God
has commanded in Leviticus 18:5, namely "you shall therefore keep my statues,
and my ordinances; which if a man do, he shall live by them: I am Jehovah
(Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12). Hence, the command was to keep God’s statues and
ordinances. Now it must be clearly understood and acknowledged that the
result of this commandment is no one ever kept them, therefore
noone ever lived by them (Galatians 3:21-22). Notice in Romans 7:10,
Paul declares that instead of this commandment giving life it resulted in
death. The exact statement is "This was found to be unto
death". Here the Greek verb ehv•reh•thee is in the aorist tense
and passive voice and implies that in the process of time, it was found,
discovered and recognized that this commandment was not
being kept, that God’s statues and ordinances were being broken and that instead
of there being evidence of life, there was evidence of sin
everywhere. Now since the wages of sin is death this means that the ultimate
result of the broken commandment was death. Summarizing, the commandment
promised life to the one keeping it but since noone kept
it, the result was sin and the consequence of sin was death.
In other words, through the Law Paul was faced with the fact that he was a
sinner (Romans 3:20), which ultimately caused him to see his need
of Christ.

In Romans 8:2, Paul states that the "Law of the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus freed me from the Law of sin and death". Thus we
see that through the Law Paul gained knowledge of his sin, which
in turn caused him to find life in Christapart from the
Law, which in turn freed him to live to God. All those who are
legalistically or denominationally inclined to seek justification through the
Law or through the works of the Law, must understand that the only
way one can find life is to turn away from the Law and its work as a
means of obtaining or retaining salvation and embrace the
efficacious works of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for salvation.

And now we move to Galatians 2:20 from the King James
Version, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me".Andfrom
the Greek Text, "I have been crucified with Christ; and I myself no longer live,
but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by
the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." Since the
apostle Paul has been speaking about his death to the Law in this course of his
writings, here it should be obvious that this being seenehs•tahv•ro•meh
translated "crucified with Christ" or his being "identified with Christ," in
Christ’s death; pertains to the fact that in Christ he died to the Law
(Romans 7:4). Here Paul teaches that every believer in God’s sovereign purpose
was crucified with Christ in eternity as it was manifested on Calvary in time
(Romans 6:3-6). So if Paul was crucified with Christ, it logically follows that
he no longer lived under the Law; and if he no longer lived, i.e., (under the
Law) he could not possibly have any relation to the Law.

Note that reference is made to the old "Saul of Tarsus"
who was once under the Law but now has died with Christ to the Law
and here he declares, "Christ lives in me!" Paul affirms this same
thought in writing to the Corinthians, wherein he states, "always bearing about
the death of Jesus in the body, that also the life of Jesus might be seen in our
body" (II Corinthians 4:10). The old Saul who had lived for
self under the Law died and the new Paul, controlled by the
Holy Spirit, now showed forth the life of Jesus in his body! Paul had
lived his former life under the Law by sight, i.e., on a physical
plane. Now he lived his new life in Christ by the faith of the Son of
God (II Corinthians 5:7). Translating this very literally, Paul lived by
the faith that had been graciously imparted to him by Christ
Himself (Ephesians 2:8; I Timothy 1:14). In God’s sovereign purpose He
extended faith to us for both salvation and daily living and
we are responsible in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, to exercise and
utilize this faith (Galatians 5:24-25; II Corinthians 4:10-11).

Now according to this verse (Galatians 2:20), this
faith was given to Paul through Jesus (the Son of God), the one who loved him
and pahr•ahth•ond· os that is "gave"
himself for him or literally, who "delivered himself up on his behalf." Note the
emphasis here is that the love of Christ caused him to become a
sin-substitute for all those whom he has chosen. As we exegete the last portion
of this verse, note the statement recorded in Ephesians 5:2, "Christ loved
us and Hegave Himself on behalf of us; an offering
and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smell (Romans 4:35; Ephesians 5:25).
The expressions "loved" and "gave" are aorist participles, thus they convey the
thought that this action occurred at a specific point in the past. This
expresses the predetermined plan of God; who was delivered for our
offenses and raised again for or because of our
justification. In light of all of this, the Apostle Paul certainly makes it
clear here that everything he has and everything he is has been
made available to him through the grace of God in Christ!

Now we turn to Galatians 2:21, the focal point of this
passage, from the King James Version, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for
if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. And
from the Greek Text, "I do not reject the grace of God; for if righteousness
is through the law; then Christ died without purpose." Here Paul’s main argument
in this verse is that all those (including Peter) who turned back to the keeping
of the Law for justification, actually and in fact ahth•eht•o
rendered "are rejecting", "doing away with" and "refusing to be governed by" the
grace of God.

In Galatians 5:4, Paul states that to those who follow
this course of action, from the King James Version, "Christ is become of no
effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law; you are fallen from
grace." And from the Greek Text, "You who are justified by the law have been
severed from Christ, you have fallen from grace." Now it seems incredible
that many legalists and even some denominations actually attempt to use
this verse to repudiate the doctrine of absolute security in Christ. They
ignorantly quote (completely out of context) Paul’s expression (in the King
James Version), "you are fallen from grace". It is impossible to fall
from grace or to be "moved" from grace. What Paul is actually conveying in this
verse is that those who insist on seeking to be justified by or
through the Law; do so at the expense of being estranged from the meritorious
work of Christ. Again, from the Greek Text Paul states that "You who are
justified by the law have been severed from Christ" and as a result of
your action of seeking justification by the law; you have fallen from or
forsaken grace" (Romans 9:31; 11:7).

The actual Greek New Testament reads, kaht•eer•yee•thee•teh
ahpo Khrees•too translated "severed from Christ." The Greek word
kaht•eer•yee•thee•teh translated "severed" literally means to "make
idle" or "ineffectual". Now it is interesting that this Greek verb is in the
indicative mood, aorist tense and passive voice. Here as it is used with the
Greek preposition ahpo rendered "from", conveys the idea of "being made
idle" or "ineffectual" from Christ, i.e., they have no vital and effective
relation with Christ. So Paul speaks of those who are seeking to be
justified by the works of the Law of Moses as having been separated from
Christ. The indicative mood suggests that Paul considered his statement here
a fact and not a question and the aorist tense and passive voice undoubtedly
refers to those of the commonwealth of Israel whose eyes (minds) have
been blinded to the fact of justification through the righteousness of Christ
(Romans 9:31; 10:2-4; 11:7-8).

Here Paul looked upon those who professed faith in
Jesus Christ as belonging to Him unless there was a lack of subsequent
spiritual evidence (I Corinthians 15:2). Note the basic principle by which God
saves men in this Church age (dispensation) is grace. The central
expression of this grace is the total faithfulness of Jesus
Christ, including His substitutionary death as manifested on the Cross. As Paul
observed some of the Galatians turning back to keeping the Law (for
righteousness or justification), this naturally disturbed him, for it was
evidence that they were not depending upon the faithfulness of Christ for
their justification (reference Galatians 2:16). The ground for justification
under grace is dependence upon the faithfulness of Christ, even his
obedience unto the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8). As the Galatians were
endeavoring to keep the Law they were thereby revealing a dependence upon
the Law for a right relation to God. Now keeping their actions in the proper
perspective and judging on the basis of their actions, Paul perceives their
efforts to keep the Law as an absolute dependence upon the Law for their
justification.

The basis for justification is either
"the faithfulness of Christ" (Galatians 2:16) or the works of the
Law (Romans 10:5). Now one thing is absolutely certain and that is it
cannot be both of these because these two principles (Law and grace)
excludes one another. Here the Apostle Paul makes it very clear that
justification is not acquired through keeping the Law. For out of the
works of Law "no flesh shall be justified" (Galatians 2:16). The fact that these
Galatians were turning back to keeping the Law, particularly
circumcision, which symbolized the whole Law; seemed to exclude a vital
dependence upon Christ’s finished work; hence Paul here concludes that
they no longer have a vital and effective grace relationship
with Christ. According to Paul, the absolute faithfulness of Christ in
eternity, which culminated in His death on Calvary in time, is the sole basis
for our justification from sin. Any dependence upon anything else, such
as the Law; would be to cancel "faith in Jesus Christ out" and reveal an
ineffective relationship to Him. A very important fact for all believers to
understand is there is no possible way of obtaining justification through
the keeping of the Law.

Now as we exegete the latter portion of Galatians 5:4,
we can now agree that those who are endeavoring to be justified by the Law are
not only severed from Christ but they also have fallen from grace. Here the
Greek verb ehx•ehp•ehs•ah•teh translated "fallen", means to "fall
out of", fall away from", "forsake" or "forfeit" the principle of justification
by or through grace.

Note, the Galatians have been called by (in) the grace
of Christ (Galatians 1:6) and Paul had been called thee•ah
rendered through the grace of God (Galatians 1:15). In Ephesians 2:8, Paul
declares that all believers are saved by grace through faith, the source of
which is not, (is not) man, but it is the gift of God. Again and we will
continue to drive home the point that human works contribute
absolutely nothing to a person’s salvation (Ephesians 2:9). Trying to keep
the Mosaic Law has never saved anyone, for no one has ever perfectly kept the
Law (Galatians 3:10-12; Romans 10:5). If one is going to be saved, one’s
salvation must be on some other basis than human works and law keeping.

It is imperative for all believers to understand that
(1) The only way God saves mankind is by or through grace
(Ephesians 2:8). (2) The only way God recognize righteousness is on the
basis of the faithfulness of Christ (Romans 3:22). (3) The only way He justifies
is through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:11). Thus we need to see clearly
that God is the one who providessalvation,
righteousness and justification for believers in Jesus Christ, as a
free gift of His grace. When a person who has been saved on the
basis of the principle of grace, reverts to the impotent principle of law
keeping; demonstrates what Paul means by the statement "fallen from grace". Now
it is possible for even the elect (Romans 8:33), through ignorance to
revert back to the principles of legalism and unfortunately many do,
because of the doctrines of their denominations, but this does not mean that
they are unsaved. Understand this, when God sovereignly saves a person by His
grace, he perfectly saves such one for now and for all eternity as he shares
with him His own eternal life (John 6:57-58).

Now as we discourse the final portion of verse in part
IV as found in Galatians 2:21, we note that the grace of God is not only the
basis for our salvation from the original sin but also the basis for the
production of God’s work in our daily lives (Ephesians 2:8-10). Paul states in
writing to the church at Corinth that the grace of God energized in him, thus
causing him to labor more abundantly than all the other apostles (I
Corinthians 15:10). The final point that Paul endeavors to get over to Peter and
others is the fact that if righteousness is through the agency of the Law, then
Christ died without purpose (thor•eh•ahn), without reason or His
death did not accomplish anything. Paul knew what it was to try to
establish his own out-of-the-law righteousness; he knew from experience
the utter futility of it, and this prompted him all the more to totally depend
upon the righteousness based on the "out-of-God righteousness" obtained
by believing (Philippians 3:9).

One final note is that this verse makes it obvious that
righteousness cannot be based on both the death of Christ and the Law.
Note we have already seen that the Law failed to produce righteousness due to
weakness of the flesh (Romans 8:3) therefore the faithfulness of Christ,which involves the death and blood of Christ is
the only valid basis for righteousness acceptable to God (Romans 3:21-25).

As we move to the final segment of our exegesis of
scriptures documenting the Doctrine of Justification we again emphasis the
utmost importance of understanding this doctrinal truth. We are currently in the
first decade of a new millennium calendar wise, accordingly we believe that we
are also moving toward the close of the Dispensation of Grace. Now we believe
that one of the greatest benefits and blessings of this era is the knowledge
that we are justified, i.e., we have an acceptable standing before God,
which includes a righteous position. Thus we are confident that we have peace
with God and will never again be separated from Him. This justified or
righteous or acceptable position in Christ assures the elect of God that
as a member of the Body of Christ, we have a perpetual andeverlastingrelationshipwith God through the meritorious worth and value of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh what a relief it is when we know that we are not
burdened with the responsibility of providing our own contribution to
effectuateand maintain our peaceful (face to face) standing before
God. What a joy to dwell in His presence, not based upon our own works but upon
the efficacious accomplishment of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and rose
for because of our justification

.

Part V of this discourse is found in Galatians 3:19-25.
In Galatians 3:6, Paul reiterates the thought in Romans 4:3 that Abraham
believed God and it was counted or imputed unto him for righteousness. It has
also been established in Galatians 2:16 and 3:11 that no man can be
justified out of the works of the Law and the "righteous shall live by faith".
In Galatians 3:13, it is documented that "Christ has redeemed us out of the
curse of the law; having become a curse for us;" thus His efficacious death
fulfilled the requirement of deliverance both of the Jews under the Law and the
Gentiles from exclusion from deliverance from the curse placed on the entire
human race as the result of Adam’s sin. Therefore, "the blessing of Abraham
(through the faith medium) might come unto the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we
might receive he promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14). Now we
must remember that the seed of Abraham (according to promise) is Christ
(Galatians 3:16); the identification of Christ as the seed is very
significantfor the duration of the Law wasuntil Christ,
the seed, might come; thus there could be no basis for extending the Law beyond
this time. So the Law did not annul or make void the promise
(Galatians 3:17); thus God’s inheritance can not possibly be out of the
Law, but out of promise. Note, the inheritance of God is always out of
promise (as a free gift) Romans 8:32; I Corinthians 2:12. God did not give
the promise to Abraham because of any merit on his part. There is no evidence
that he was personally any better than the other men of his generation. So God
sovereignly selected Abraham (in eternity), and gave to him the promise of
theinheritancesolely on the basis of grace (Galatians 3:18;
Romans 4:2,11).

Now as we open this series, we first exegete Galatians
3:19 from the King James Version, "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added
because of transgressions, till the seedshould come to whom the promise
was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator". Now from the
Greek Text, "what therefore is the law? It was added because of transgressions,
until the seed might come to whom it was promised; having been arranged through
angels by the hand of a mediator." Note, the question with which this verse
opens may be interpreted as: (1) what is the Law there for, or what purpose
does it serve? (2) Why does the Law exist or why did God give it to
Israel? First, Paul’s answer to these questions is that the Law is an addition.
It was pros•eh•tehth•ee rendered "added"; "placed to" or
"against", or it was "superimposed" during much of the same time as the promise.

Second, what was the khar•een translated
"cause", of its addition or what was its purpose? The answer is it was added
because or on account of transgressions, to reveal transgressions as
disobedience to God and though such disobedience, to make the one under the Law
conscience of his sin, i.e., to give a knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).
Third, for how long was the Law added? Paul states in this verse that it was
added, ahkh•rees translated "until’, "up to a given time" or
"until a certain event came to pass.

Now here we have good news to the recipients of the
Kingdom Gospel message i.e., the coming of the Messiah (the seed in
essence, the Christ) was the event to which the Old Testament prophets
looked forward. Notice that the duration of the Law (even to them) was until the
seed came, the one to whom the promise was made, even Christ. Since the
promise, which was in the form of the Abrahamic covenant, depended upon the
death of Christ for its enactment, the phrase "until the seed came" must be
understood to involve Jesus’ entire incarnate life in the flesh
including His death (Galatians 3:13; Luke 23:45; Romans 4:25).

So the purpose of the Mosaic Law was fulfilled
at Calvary’s Cross-and since that time God’s method of making men
righteous and justifying them is solely by grace (Romans
6:14). Furthermore, we need to observe that the Law was inferior to the promise
in the manner in which it was given. It has been thee•aht•ahy•ees
rendered "arranged", "ordained" or "dispensed" thought the agency of angels
(messengers). Now this was accomplished through the hand of a mediator, namely
Moses. But on the other hand, God Himself gave the promise directly to
Abraham so there were no intervening angelic intermediaries or mediators. Thus
we see that the direct method used in giving the promise made it superior
to the indirectly revealed Law, hence it is superior because of the results it
produces.

Now we move to Galatians 3:20 from the King James
Version, "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one". Now from the
Greek Text, "And the mediator is not one, but God is one." Notice that the
ongoing argument here is that What God gives directly and personally
is better than that which is indirectly through a go-between mediator. Now where
a mediator is involved such as the angles and Moses with the Law, there are
actually two mediators or intermediaries standing between God and man. Thus we
see that the promise, the Abrahamic covenant, is superior to the Mosaic Law
because God Himself directly gave it to Abraham. In this age of grace,
God is directly speaking His promise to us (the Grace Covenant) today through
His word, namely that our faith is counted for righteousness or that the just
shall live by faith!

As we move to Galatians 3:21 from the King James
Version, "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if
there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law". Now from the Greek Text, "Is the law therefore
against the promises of God? Absolutely not; for if a law was given that was
able to make alive, righteousness would indeed be out of the law." This verse
again asks a very pointed question and that is, is the Law in opposition to the
promises of God. The obvious and emphatic answer to this question is conveyed in
the strongest Greek expression namely mee yehn•ee•to. This Greek
grammatical construction may be translated "let it never be", "absolutely not"
or away with the thought that the Law is kaht•ah rendered
"against" or "contrary" to the promise of God. Note, the same God who
gave the promises also gave the Law, and He does not
contradict His promises that He gave to Abraham by the Law that He gave to
Moses!

Now the Law is good when it is nom•eem•os khree•teh
translated "properly used", i.e., lawfully used according to its intended
purpose (Romans 7:12,16; I Timothy 1:8). Paul never takes an antinomian attitude
toward the Law of Moses; however, he does strongly condemn the misuse
and misapplication of the Mosaic Law. If the Law of Moses had the
thee•nah•meh•nos rendered "power", "dynamic" or "ability’ to make men
spiritually alive; then the source of righteousness would be the Law. Now
according to this verse righteousness and divine life are inseparable; so the
promise of righteousness would indicate the presence of life.

In the book of Romans Paul states, "For Moses writes of
the righteousness that is out of the law, that the man who has done it shall
live by it" (Romans 10:5). Now the problem is that due to the weakness of the
flesh (Romans 8:3), no man has gained righteousness and life through the Law of
Moses, for no one has perfectly kept the Law. But all men have fallen under the
curse of the Law (Romans 3:10). Paul’s argument is that if the Law had been able
to make men spiritually alive, then the Law would be the source of
righteousness. The apostles Paul and Peter both recognized that the Law of Moses
never justified nor made any man righteous (Galatians 2:16), therefore it never
imparted life to any man. In other words, since the Law was not able to identify
men with the life and righteousness of God, and this was never the purpose for
which it was given, there had to be another source of life and righteousness,
namely the faithful person of Jesus Christ who died as our sin-substitute
(Galatians 2:16).

Now as we turn to Galatians 3:22, we read from the King
James Version, "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise
by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe". Now from the
Greek Text, "But the Scripture shut up all things under sin, in order that the
promise out of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ might be given to those
believing." Here the Greek word grahph•ee rendered "scripture", is
used with reference to the Mosaic Law. Paul states that the scripture (Law)
seen•eh•klee•seen translated "shut up", "locked up completely" and
"enclosed all things", eep•o rendered "under", "under the
umbrella" and subject to the covering of sin. Instead of the Mosaic Law giving
life and righteousness, it was given to make those under it (the Jews) aware of
their sins (Romans 7:10). Paul states in Romans 7:7, "But I did not know sin
except through the Law, for I did not know lust except the law said, you shall
not lust". The Law served as a divine standard declaring what men should do
and should not do. Failure to meet this standard, to carry out the
commandments contained in the Law, was disobedience to the word of God given to
Israel for that time and thereby produced a sin-conscience.

The Law made the fact obvious that men were sinners by
nature. Its purpose was to make sin appear as sin and to impress upon the
minds of men the exceeding sinfulness of sin (Romans 3:19,20; 7:13). Thus we see
that the basic purpose of the Mosaic Law was not to produce lifeand
righteousness in those under it, but to shut them up unto a consciousness of
sin in order that the faithfulness of Jesus Christ might be the basis for giving
the Abrahamic promise. The promises made to Abraham involved counting faith for
righteousness (Galatians 3:16). This was incorporated in the fact that the
Gentiles would be blessed with him on a faith basis (Galatians 3:8-9) as it was
accomplished through his faithful seed, Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16,19). The
Mosaic Law completely enclosed all those under it in a sphere of guilt, in a
sphere in which they were forced to recognize that they were disobedient sinners
before God.

The purpose of the Law in this was that the promise
might be given to those believing. In literally following what the scriptures
says, here we have two distinct thoughts: (1) That the source, the basis for
giving the promise was the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, the summation of which
is His obedience until death as manifested on the Cross (Philippians 2:8; Romans
5:10). (2) The promise is given to a specific group of people namely tees
peest•ehv•oo•seen rendered "those believing" or "those trusting", i.e.,
to those identified with the seed, Jesus Christ, through faith (Acts 16:31). So
the substitutionary death, i.e., the faithfulness of Jesus Christ is the source
of our justification (Romans 3:24-25; 5:9). Now when we are caused to exercise
our God-given faith in Jesus Christ, it is the means of manifestation by which
we are justified and made partakers of the Abrahamic promise of justification by
faith (Ephesians 2:8; I Timothy 1:14; John 6:44)!

Now we move to Galatians 3:23 from the King James
Version, "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the
faith which should afterwards be revealed". Now from the Greek Text, "But before
faith came we were being guarded under the law, being shut up unto the faith
about to be revealed." Here the statement "before faith came", indicates that
there was a definite time when God began dealing with men in a different way.
There was a change in His method or policy of relating to men because faith is
now the key to a right relationship to God (Romans 1:17; 5:2; II Corinthians
1:24; 5:7). Now we have already observed that Abraham believed what God said and
it was counted unto him for righteousness (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6).
Furthermore, the scripture foresaw (but did not specifically Fore-state) that at
a given time God would begin justifying the Gentiles by faith therefore
extending the Abrahamic faith-blessing to believers in this present church age
(Galatians 3:8-9). There are other predicate statements in the Old Testament
that imply or set forth the principle of justification by faith. David spoke of
the "blessethness of the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works
(Psalms 32:1-2; Romans 4:6). Habakkuk also declared that ‘the just (righteous)
shall live by faith" (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17). The Apostle Paul, inspired by
the Holy Spirit, uses this Old Testament evidence to support the fact that
today, during this present church age, God is justifying believers by faith in
Jesus Christ.

Now prior to this age, in which God is pouring out "the
exceeding riches of His grace upon us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7), the Jews
were eh•phroo•room•eh•tah translated "guarded", "protected" and
"confined’, under the Mosaic Law. This being locked up under the Law was
preparing them for the faith that was mehl•loos•ahn rendered
"about", "at the point of" and "on the brink of " being revealed. Here the
present participle seeg•klee•o•meh•nee rendered "being shut up",
suggests that this was a continuous confinement under the Law, which was for a
limited duration, i.e., to the point of time when faith would be ahp•ok•ahl•eeph•theen•eh
rendered "uncovered", and would become God’s governing principle.

Again, notice the Greek word eh•phroo•room•eh•tah
(guarded), it implies that the Mosaic Law was keeping watch over, preserving and
restraining the Jewish Nation until the era of faith came. Note Paul uses this
same word in Philippians 4:7 in explaining the "guarding preserving and
stabilizing" effect that the peace of God has on the hearts and minds of
believers, for he states ‘the peace of God", which is beyond all understanding
shall phroo•ree•s•eh rendered "guard" or preserve your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Peter likewise uses this same
word phroo•room•eh•noos (guard), in speaking of how God’s power
preserves believers, for he states, "those being guarded by the power of God
through faith unto a salvation prepared to be revealed in the last time" (I
Peter 1:5). Thus we see that according to the basic meaning and usage of
phroo•reh•o, the confinement of Israel under the Mosaic Law helped to
guard and preserve her from the excessive sins of the Gentile Nations
(Romans 1:18-32).

And now as we turn to Galatians 3:24, we read from the
King James Version, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto
Christ, that we might be justified by faith".Now from the Greek Text,
"So that the law had become our pedagogue unto Christ, that we might be
justified out of faith." Here the English word "pedagogue" is a transliteration
of the Greek word peh•thahg•o•gos, which literally means
"child-leader". This name was given to trusted servants responsible for
supervising the conduct and morals of Greek and Roman boys up to the age of
manhood. The pedagogue had to enforce obedience to the moral codes applicable to
the boys; therefore he had to be strict, stern and severe!

Likewise Israel was under the strict and stern
requirements of the Mosaic Law (Galatians 3:10; James 2:13) until Christ’s death
on Calvary, when He cried, "It has been finished" (John 19:30). Note the Law as
a merciless discipline, developing within the Jews a consciousnessof sin
(Romans 7:7-11) and a longing for their redeemer (Luke 2:25-32; 36-38). Observe
that the main verb yehg•on•ehn (had become) is in the perfect
tense, which indicates that the Law had been made a pedagogue up to the time of
Christ’s suffering and sacrificial death on the cross (Isaiah 53:4-11; Matthew
27:51). Now the purpose for which the Law had been made a pedagogue for the Jews
was that they theek•eh•o•tho•mehn translated "might be justified";
out of faith or out of faithfulness.

Now since the chief end of the Law as that of a
pedagogue leading Israel to Christ; therefore the main emphasis here may be on
the faithfulness of Christ as the source of their justification. On the other
hand, Paul’s thought here may be that the source of their justification is faith
that is counted for righteousness. Now both of these thoughts are according to
the scriptures and they are inseparable: (1) Justification by faith apart from
the perfect faithfulness of Christ unto death is impossible for a just god
(Romans 3:25-26). (2) God’s method of identifying believers with the
faithfulness of Christ, the epitome of which is the manifestation of His substitutionary death on Calvary (Romans 3:22).

Now we move to Galatians 3:25 the King James Version,
"But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster". Now from
the Greek Text, "Faith having come we are no longer under a pedagogue." Here we
note that when the time came for Jesus Christ to fulfill Isaiah fifty-three as
God’s servant, the benefit of His substitutionary death was immediately
available to Israel and there was no longer need for the
Law-pedagogue. When the Law had accomplished its intended pedagogue purpose of
leading an elect remnant to Jesus Christ (Romans 9:11,15-18); with its mission
fulfilled and its purpose accomplished, then it ceased to exist as a part of
God’s workings. So as members of the Body of Christ, the church, we are not
under the Law but under grace (Romans 6:14).

As we close our discourse of study in the Doctrine of
Justification, we note our identification as "Sons of God", i.e., we are
in a sonship relation to God (Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:14). Now, through
our knowledge of justification, we understand that this new relationship is
obtained through the faithfulness that is in the essence of Jesus Christ
or through the exercise of faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26).
Notice, the basic theme of justification places the burden and
accomplishments of both, our deliverance from the sin nature and the
sustenance of our justified, peaceful-face to face position before God;
squarely, exclusively and completely on the shoulders of our Lord
Jesus Christ. So in this case the emphasis is always on the faithful
redeemer or our faith in the faithful redeemer, Jesus Christ.

A true knowledge and understanding of justification
causes one to recognize that these two concepts are inseparable; both
must be present and are requisites for salvation. Now ones faith must
not be in oneself, but ones faith must be in an adequate,
faithful Savior (Jesus Christ). So our Sonship relation to God rests upon the
promise of faith in the one who was obedient unto death (Philippians 2:8).
Accordingly, faith (God’s median for justification) must be in the perfect
God-Man, who was tried and tested in all areas of human temptation, but never
succumbed, for He was kho•rees, i.e., he was "apart’ or
‘separated’ from "all" sin (Hebrews 4:5).

Now as we close out the textual examination of
justification, we have pointed out numerous scriptures and documentation that
define this very extensive subject matter. Here we have only attempted in a
much-abbreviated way, to disclose the unlimited truths expressed in the essence
of God’s method for justifying mankind. We will, of course continue to
reiterate the message of justification; for it is a very intricate part of
our salvation and also it is the basic foundation for many other doctrines of
God’s grace. So we once again affirm that our faith is not of ourselves, it is
the gift of God. Also we are justified freely by this gift of faith,
which God has so graciously deposited in our hearts. Oh bless His name for our
justification!

The general nature of justification is identified in
the fact that the state of its recipients is antecedently matriculated therein
(Romans 1:32; 3:19; 4:5; Galatians 3:10,22; John 3:18,26). The sum of the
inquiry into this doctrinal subject entails basically three questions concerning
the status of one’s declared righteousness; in essence they are whether:

Is it anything that is of one’s own inherency?

Is it that which is solely imputed?

Is it a combination of the above (two) inquiries?

In other words, what is the basis of one’s
acceptance to God? The brief writings submitted within this discourse are
intended to declare and vindicate the truth of this precious Doctrine of
Justification by (through the faithfulness of Christ) faith. These
scriptural cogitations have been so expressed to document the instructions and
edifications of the word of God, in conveying such to God’s people. The above
writings are submitted in love and sincerity with the hope of extricating
confused minds from the difficulties that impinge those who struggle to
accomplish, that which is impossible through the flesh.

To this end, the endeavor of that which is outlaid
herein is to direct the conscience of them that inquire after abiding peace with
God and to establish the minds of them that do believe in the efficacious
work of Jesus Christ on behalf of the believer. The Doctrine of
Justification pleaded for in this positional document is charged by many with an
unfriendly aspect; in that they would rather embrace "righteousness" in their
conception of the sense of the necessity of personal (evangelical) holiness,
good works and total obedience to the gospel as the prerequisite to
accomplishing such.

The fiercest charge of the legalist against any
doctrine they oppose as inconsistent with their sense of the necessary motive
unto godliness is, they foist that any inducement to conform one must be
compelled by some threat of loss. In this view, regulations and penalties
engender duty and devotion. There cannot be a more effectual engine plied for
the ruin of sound salvation teaching than for God’s people to declaim against
the doctrine of justification by faith alone and other doctrines concerning the
grace exhibited by our Lord Jesus Christ. Contrary to the thinking of some,
the doctrines of salvation enrobed in grace do not overthrow the necessity of
moral duties, good works and gospel obedience. The gospel of grace solidifies
ones adherence to sound conduct as it embraces the power of the truth upon the
hearts of the believer as a greater motivator than the creeds of religions. The
effectuation of the gospel of grace is the truth which really targets godliness;
declaring and exhibiting that which teaches us (Greek Text), "that having denied
ungodliness and worldly lust we should live sensibly and rightly and godly in
the present age (Titus 2:12).

During these times of great and fierce contests about
notions, opinions and practices in religion, there is a horrible decay in true
gospel purity and holiness of life among the current generation of Christians.
There are those who make it their rallying course to cavil at certain
expressions and points of justification and even grace in an attempt to wrest
away the key wordings of them and draw conclusions from them that are not
expressly stated nor inferred. They seek to revile and cast unfounded advantages
to their teachings through wiredrawn inferences in any occasional passages or
other parts of the doctrine. Rather than hold to sound Biblical doctrines as the
only standard of truth, there has evolved a secondary enclave of doctrines
proposed and contended that espouse the so-called modernistic ways of living and
walking in God with its prioritized focus on mankind. When such doctrinal
teaching is pleaded, it ensues in licentiousness and corrupts mindsets through
the prevalence of the depraved nature of mankind.

The ways and means of justification and such doctrines
must be endowed in the heart of God’s elect as its efficacy and influence into
maturation engenders obedience unto God in righteousness and true holiness.
These attributes are not discernable without some beam of spiritual light nor
can there be an experience of their power unto the minds (hearts) of those who
are utterly destitute of the true principle of spiritual life. If the Doctrine
of Justification is really believed and received in its proper light and power,
in the experience of former and present times (Law and Grace), it will bring
contentment to its recipients. This is the basic fruit that is to be gleaned
from an informed comprehension of light that has been given for assurance and
stability.

The principle design and purpose of this discourse is
devised to state the Doctrine of Justification from the scriptures and to
confirm it by the testimonies thereof. None of its correct teachings can be
esteemed as spoken against unless the exposition of scripture testimonies and
their applications are disproved by just rules of Bible exegesis
(interpretation) and another plausible sense of them are evinced. The proper
means of teaching and learning the doctrines of salvation in general and
Justification specifically is that we may treat them usefully unto their proper
ends, which are the glory of God in Christ with peace and stability and unto the
furtherance of the obedience of believers; based on the knowledge of God’s will,
plan and purpose. It is to this end that we must have respect unto in the entire
process of conveying the subject matter Justification.

The initial inquiry in this matter is to ascertain the
proper relief of the conscience of those who are pressed and perplexed with a
sense of guilt of sin. In addressing such ones, Justification is the only
ways-and-means whereby a person can obtain acceptance before God, with the right
and title unto a heavenly inheritance. The basic premise that all must adhere to
is that the one who is to be justified is in oneself ungodly and thereof
answerable to God as an obnoxious subject who is liable to the righteous
sentential judgment of God. The bottom line is that he who commits sin or is in
any way guilty of it, is worthy of death. Hereupon all of humanity finds itself
under the curse and sentence of the wrath of God abiding on mankind. In this
position, all are without plea or excuse for all mouths are silenced, as all are
susceptible to the consequent of sin.

With respect unto this statement and condition of
mankind, the inquiry is, "what is there upon one’s account whereof that God
pardons all their sins, receives them into His favor, declares or pronounces
them righteous and acquitted from all guilt, removes the curse and turns away
all wrath from them, giving them right and title unto a blessed immortality or
life eternal?

The writings of the Apostle Paul (our Gospel) in effect
outlays in the minutest details how God accomplish this and yet maintain His
justness. The gospel of Grace states this whole matter and in answer to all such
inquires, declares the nature of justification and all the workings of it. We do
not believe that this vital information is available elsewhere as it is confined
to the directives given in the grace contract (covenant). The writings in the
epistle of the kingdom Apostle James should not be construed to manifest the
workings of ‘’faith righteousness’’ unto justification and salvation. It does
not speak unto this inquiry or give and answer unto it; but it is of the terms
and conditions of the New Covenant. Hence it is to justification and faith in
another sense and purpose and is usefully treated in that doctrine.

Thus it is the grace doctrinal application of scripture
and its resolutions and discourses of justification that serve as the direction
for its satisfaction and peace of the consciences of mankind and not the
curiosity of notions or subtlety of disputation or any designed duty of
religion. In this light, all true analysis of this subject matter must avoid all
such philosophical terms and distinctions wherewith this doctrine has been
perplexed rather than exegetically illustrated.

To this end Paul’s revelation from Jesus Christ answers
the inquiry as to what or who’s account or for what cause and reason the elect
has been acquitted, discharged of sin and accepted with (of) God. The
declaration definitely answers the inquiry as to whether one’s entrance to God’s
favor entails any thing within human merit or even one’s self-generated faith
and repentance. This excludes any other self-renovation of one’s nature,
inherent habits or works of righteousness that one has done or may do. Nor does
justification engender any human acts of obedience, righteousness, or
satisfaction, but solely the merit of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only mediator.

The surety of faith righteousness (in Christ) rest in
the fact that all is imputed into the believer’s account. The only plausible
stratum is that righteousness unto justification cannot possibly be something
that can be attributed to the influence of the flesh. Contrariwise, it is the
influence of the Grace of God and the sovereign workings of God in election to
salvation!!!! To this end, the gospel of grace, even Mystery Truth revealed
to the Apostle Paul, documents that righteousness is not anything in or of
oneself, nor can it be so. These provisions of God are all eternally decreed and
enacted in infinite wisdom and grace by the mediation of Christ, His obedience
and death therein. The historical setting of
these occurrences, i.e., ‘’in eternity’’, testifies that they exclude any input,
participation, or contribution from anyone outside of God, thus settling all
contradictions.

The fundamental principles of the gospel of grace
confess for the declaration of the truth and order of the Dispensation of Grace.
In this covenant, the true nature of justifying faith is necessarily insisted on
including the place and use of it in justification. The cause comprise the terms
of the Grace and New Covenants, which is the true notion of the mediation and
surety of Christ, as it provides a stable and abiding foundation of acceptance
with God. The Doctrine of Justification must be the foundational directive of
Christian practice. No other evangelistic truths can suffice for the foundation,
reasons and motives of worship and service toward God.

Wherefore, the proper order is that justification by
faith (faithfulness of Christ) alone ought to be correctly taught, such that one
will learn in it and by it and though it obtain and maintain peace with God and
live unto Him. One is without doubt acceptable to God because of what He has
accomplished through Jesus Christ. Accordingly, it is of the utmost importance
that God’s people comprehend that the precious Doctrine of Justification does
not engender speculative notions and distinctions, as they are disserviceable
unto the faith of the church. Exegetical inaccuracies of the scriptures and the
artificial skills employed to propagate such error gives countenance to the
mishandling of the sacred doctrines of salvation. In this sense the spiritual
amplitude of divine truths is restrained therein while low, mean and
philosophical dogmas are imposed on the recipients of Grace. In addition to
this, endless divisions and contentions are occasioned and perpetuated.

It is the prayers of the Grace Gospel Ministry that all
those who have viewed this humble document will as least glean the true nature
of saving faith and justification unto salvation by faith alone. We believe that
such understanding will result in the securing of the spiritual comfort of
believers in this life as it is of the highest importance. This is the way
wherein justification by faith does display itself in the souls and consciences
of believers unto their support and comfort under all conflicts of sin, with all
its trials and temptation. This is evidenced by its inherent, diligent and
constant endeavor in the true exercise of grace, which excels over all
ordinances of works, services and worship.